Anew
by TheWinterComet
Summary: You must chase your goal into a new unknown, and only then may you call yourself a Pokémon Trainer. Ciel Fauder is thrust into the life of a Trainer in an attempt to find purpose, while Ethan Hibiki and Lyra Kotone chase a delinquent connected to a criminal revival. Extended retelling of HGSS, focusing on both original and canon characters. 34/35.
1. Sunrise

**This story is co-developed by Titan127.**

 **Disclaimer: Pokémon is a registered property of Nintendo, the Pokémon Company, and GameFreak. This work respectfully uses the world and characters of the Pokémon series, with no intent of harm on the original creators. Please support the official releases of the Pokémon franchise.**

 **Chapter 1: Sunrise (4,989 words)**

* * *

To Ciel, the village of Mahogany seemed the type to take any excuse to party. He couldn't tell if they were partying to celebrate the two new Gym Leaders or to honor Pryce in his retirement. Nobody he asked really seemed to know, and he'd bet that no one really cared.

Mahogany village was definitely… a village. There were only about twenty buildings in total, including the Gym. He was certain the entire population of the small hamlet had gathered. They were excited to have an opportunity to throw around a few drinks and dance into the night.

Ciel busied himself with conversation. Only a few locals were around his age and he neither knew nor could immediately remember any of their names. That was alright. Either there would be plenty of time to get familiar with everyone if he stayed in Mahogany, or it wouldn't matter. He still hadn't decided yet.

He felt himself growing ever distracted as he tried to maintain a chat with the people in front of him. Two older women, holding drinks and doting on him, and another guy his age vied for his attention. None were getting it, as he was too deep in his own thoughts.

Ciel had lived in Goldenrod City for his entire life and had graduated from Goldenrod High School less than a year ago. Since then, he'd been content to continue living with his parents and take some basic jobs to make money until he made his decision.

He liked to consider himself more prepared than most. He knew what he wanted to do. His parents were both Trainers. He'd watched competitive battling since he was a kid. He already had a partner Pokémon, and his Trainer Card was registered as soon as he left high school. More than anything, he wanted to be a Pokémon Trainer himself.

Being a Pokémon Trainer meant leaving home. He'd travel around his home region of Johto and undertake the Gym Challenge. Most major regions in the world had a series of Gyms, institutions where rising Trainers proved their mettle by battling against a Gym Leader. Each Gym Leader specialized in a certain variety of Pokémon and acted both as tests for new Trainers and as representatives of their home cities. His own parents had taken up the mantle to represent Mahogany.

Ciel wanted, no, _needed_ to be a Pokémon Trainer. He needed to rise to the challenge and be the best person he could be with Pokémon at his side.

He just didn't know if he was ready to take that step. Ciel knew what he wanted, but he didn't know what being a Pokémon Trainer meant to him. Every Trainer had a purpose, but he didn't have the slightest clue.

The teenager was snapped out of his conversation—and his distracting thoughts—by a tug on his arm. Looking down, his eleven-year-old sister Laina had a miserable look on her face. Absolutely miserable. "I want a cookie," she pouted.

He held back a chuckle at her expense. "I suppose you're just going to have to wait until they bring food out," he told her, wide grin on his face.

"But, I want a cookie!"

Ciel poked the tip of her nose, causing her to flinch. "Don't pout. Don't you know that patience is a virtue?"

"Cookies are a virtue too." She crossed her arms and turned away, grumbling. Laina let out a huff, puffing her cheeks until they were adorably red.

"Hey, Laina, let's go find Mom," Ciel said.

He bid goodbye to the people he was speaking to and waded through the thick crowd that flowed around the communal center of the village. Banners were strung up across the buildings and on posts, complete with hanging lights and torches burning into the sky. Ciel was in awe of the colors displayed around them, starting to really appreciate the atmosphere and the happiness that the celebration was bringing.

People danced freely. Everywhere he looked, men and women, men and men, women and women were locked in arms and tossing their weight around to the beat of live folk music. Screams of joy were silenced with alcohol before crying out again in jubilation. A constant chatter held in the air, feeling both inviting and overwhelming.

Ciel called back. "Laina, you still there?"

"Yeah!" his sister shouted, pumping her short arms in the air.

He reached down, grabbed his younger sister's hand, and squeezed tight. "Stay with me, alright?"

The siblings weaved through the crowd, watching it thin out. Ciel narrowed his eyes overhead. He looked for tell-tale signs of the Mahogany Gym where his parents were likely to be. They'd disappeared after their formal introduction at the beginning of the celebration and the people of the village quickly forgot about them.

They left the party crowd completely, and Ciel sighed in relief as he spied his mother speaking to a frail-looking old man. He was wearing a fine blue coat, and Ciel suddenly wished he had something to fight back the chill.

"Oh?" The old man noticed them as they approached. He was leaning on a cane. "Might these be your children, Kori?"

"Yes. I thought you had met them before," his mother said.

The old man sized up the siblings. "Definitely not. I'd trust myself to remember faces that look like such magnets for trouble!

The man let out a cough-ridden laugh. Ciel felt embarrassments in his cheeks. He wasn't a trouble magnet. Usually.

"Mom, who is he?" Laina asked.

"Kids, this is Mister Yanagi, the former Gym Leader of Mahogany," his mother introduced. "He's the one whose position your father and I are taking over."

The old man raised his eyebrows. "You bunch are a long way from Goldenrod."

Oh. Ciel mentally slapped himself. Mr. Yanagi's face was on pictures his mother kept in her bedroom, and he'd seen the man sparsely on the internet and on posters. He was one of the strongest and most famous Trainers in the entire region.

He held out his hand. "Pryce Willow Yanagi. It's a pleasure, young man."

"Ciel Fauder," he introduced, taking Pryce's hand with a firm shake.

"I'm Laina!" his sister cheered next to him.

"Well, it's certainly nice to meet the both of you. I'm sure my Gym is going to be in good hands with your family."

"That's up to her, sir." Ciel pointed at his mother.

"I suppose it is. You're a Pokémon Trainer yourself, aren't you?"

"Yes, sir."

"Drop the sirs."

"Sorry, sir. Err… sorry."

"Drop the apologies."

"Sor- wait..." Ciel cut himself off, causing Pryce to throw back his head in laughter. His mother gave him a dirty look. Ciel's cheeks were heating up again. A few moments of silence left the entire situation feeling a bit awkward, and he was still getting cold.

His sister approached the man, causing him to look down. "Are you a strong Trainer, mister?"

"That's a good question." To meet her eye, the former Gym Leader gripped his cane and slowly lowered himself to a crouch. He smiled.

"And what's a good answer?" She asked.

"I've traveled the world over with my Pokémon. We've seen quite a lot together and understand each other better than perhaps I do any person. So, I suppose you can say I am strong in that regard."

"Well, mom's still the strongest Trainer I know," Laina contested, crossing her arms.

"I wouldn't go that far, sweetie," his mother said. "He did teach me nearly everything I know, after all."

"Oh, don't flatter me, Kori. By the time you reach my age, you'll have far been my superior. Your husband is nothing to scoff at either. I've seen his tournament work."

If only he had anything beyond that, Ciel thought to himself. He wouldn't say it aloud, of course.

His sister changed the subject, having lost interest in the conversation. Laina said, "Mom, I want a cookie."

"The food should be ready soon. Would you like to go get one and dance at the party?" his mother asked.

His younger sister flashed a wide smile and threw her arms in the air. She shouted, "Okay!"

His mother took his sister's hand and led her back towards the crowd. His sister was excited beyond recognition, and it was clear even in the late evening that she wasn't going to bed anytime soon. "Take care, Ciel. Tell your father we're going to enjoy ourselves!"

"Sure, I will," he lied.

This left him alone with the former Gym Leader, who was eying him with a raised eyebrow. Ciel stared up at the Gym, a large building adorned with icicles hanging off of its roof. It was an old building, he guessed, painted plainly in white with a red roof. A sigil of the Pokémon League hung worn over the door.

Pryce kept silent, and Ciel was forced eventually to meet the man's eye. His short form looked swallowed within the scarf he was wearing. Despite his body looking frail, his eyes had a distinct fire betraying both his age and his Type specialization.

"Sir, err…" he caught himself again. "Do you need something?"

Pryce smiled. "No. I don't think you could give any more answers than I already have."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

The man slammed his cane into the frozen ground, causing Ciel to startle. The fire was burning brighter now, and Pryce's face was marked by the combination of a youthful eagerness and a veteran's confidence. Reaching into his coat, the former Gym Leader retrieved a red and white capsule.

"Would you like to find out?"

Ciel was frozen, and not due to the approaching chill of the night. He was being challenged to a Pokémon battle. It wouldn't be a friendly skirmish between a few of his friends back in Goldenrod or a half-hearted waste of time with random Trainers on the street. A real one. A battle against one of the strongest Trainers in the entire region.

He didn't know how to respond. Still unsure of himself and hardly able to call himself a Trainer, there was no way he could win. However, he did know one thing. A true Trainer never rejects a challenge.

"You're on, Mister Yanagi," he said.

He ruffled back his hair and curled his thumb and index finger into shape to whistle. The ringing sound echoed into the air around them. He sunk his hands into his pockets, waiting for his partner to appear.

He expected Raven to make a show. She'd drop the shadows and growl menacingly to prove her own intimidation factor. Absol was a menacing Pokémon species—felines with black skin yet white fur and a sharp sickle-like weapon protruding from their heads.

Ciel watched with disappointment as his Absol slowly strolled from the direction of the crowd. At regular intervals, Raven stopped walked and stretched her legs, yawning as she did so.

Both Pryce and Ciel stood in awkward exasperation as the fluffed creature took to the field. He gave the man a shrug, to which Pryce turned away and held a fist to his mouth to prevent himself from laughing.

"Look who finally decided to show up," Ciel scolded, as Raven stood her ground in front of him. She responded with another yawn.

"Strange for a Johtoan Trainer to have such a Pokémon. Is there a story behind that?"

"A bit of a long one," he said.

"I'll ask some other time, then." Pryce grinned and tapped his cane on the ground. "Are the two of you ready?"

"Ready as we can be," Ciel said. His Absol agreed with a half-hearted growl and gave her best attempt at a battle stance.

"Well, now it's my turn. Piloswine!"

The old man lobbed the Poké Ball skyward with surprising dexterity. The orb rotated in mid-air until it popped open, releasing a stream of glowing red light. Striking the ground, the energy of the stream solidified into the construct of a Pokémon's body. The red glow flashed and dissipated into the night sky, revealing the powerful, fur-coated body of Pryce's Pokémon. Piloswine was a bulky mammal with powerful tusks adorning its head

"Since we don't have a referee, I'll give you the first move. Hit me with all you've got, young man."

"Raven, use Slash!" he shouted, thrusting his arm forward.

His Absol bounded forward with a strong push from her back legs. She crossed the battlefield with surprising speed and closed the distance in a second. she torqued her head in the direction of her bulky opponent.

"Catch, Piloswine," Pryce commanded.

Piloswine met Raven's charge with a bite. It chomped down onto the Absol's blade as it swung to connect with its head, stopping her momentum and putting the two at a standstill. The two creatures' eyes locked and Raven released a pained growl at the pressure.

"Now, if you would," he started, tapping his cane again. "Take Down."

"Raven, get out of the way!" Ciel shouted, realizing what a poor situation he put his partner in.

His warning made no difference. A sickening crack sounded and his Absol's body was flung across the arena, sliding through the cold dirt in front of him. He had a strong urge to run to his partner to check for damage, but that was technically against sanctioned battle rules.

Raven stumbled to her feet. What he'd found in their time together as partners was that her species was relatively fragile; rather than being naturally defensive, they were more inclined to dodge and outmaneuver their opponents to circumvent that weakness. It was his own fault that he urged her to charge forward without a plan.

"Okay, Raven, approach him slowly. Don't drop your guard!" he shouted.

Following his command, his Absol slowly stalked forward, still shaking from the previous blow. Pryce watched the Pokémon with an amused expression, but he didn't call an attack. The feline stopped of her own accord, planting herself about a meter away from the Piloswine.

Now was his chance. "Quick Attack!"

Raven closed the distance and slashed across the Piloswine's fur. The lunge was quick enough to catch it off guard, even at close range, and Raven bounced back to safety before the creature could deliver another bite. Unfortunately, the Piloswine either wasn't injured or it completely ignored the injury it sustained. The two Pokémon once again locked eyes, exchanging growls.

The old man stared around their makeshift battlefield in front of the gym for a moment, as if contemplating something. Rather than order his Absol to attack, Ciel took the tense pause as a generous few moments for her to recuperate. He could still see her sway and clenched his fist. He swore at the thought of her sustaining a permanent injury.

Pryce then looked back up and grinned. "Yes, this should do. Piloswine, Ancient Power!"

An eerie glow invaded the air as Pryce's Pokémon focused a strange energy. Loose dirt layering the ground around them lifted into the air with ease, some particles flying haphazardly out of range of their battle.

Ciel nearly lost his footing as large chunks of dirt and stone were wrestled from the ground into the air by the mysterious force. Holding his ground, his eyes widened as he saw the empowered stones flying towards him and his partner.

"Hit the deck, Raven!" he yelled before kicking his legs out from underneath himself and dropping to his stomach.

His partner did the same, but the delay in her reaction caused her to be hit directly by one of the flying boulders—a small one. It tore a cut across her hide, though superficial, and she cried out in pain. Ciel stood to his feet. He tried to call another attack but hesitated.

He couldn't just overpower his opponent as he had in a few previous battles. Raven was a strong Pokémon, even if she was untrained compared to most, but Pryce's highly experienced, likely aged Piloswine was on an entire other level. Pryce to him was the same. Neither he nor his partner were fighting a battle they could win, and he was fully aware of that.

He moved to call out another attack but felt himself hesitate as he opened his mouth. What could they do that wasn't an act of desperation against an unbeatable opponent? What was the point of even continuing the battle?

"Don't tell me you're giving up already!" Pryce taunted from across the now scarred battlefield. "I can see the uncertainty written all over your face."

Ciel grit his teeth, hating that the man was right about his hesitation. But what could he do? Raven only knew about three attacks, but Piloswine could probably counter each of them or shrug off damage like it did to her Quick Attack. Should he go for a Slash again, since it was his most powerful option? No, that would also be the easiest for his enemy to counter.

"Come on, young man! How are you going to get anywhere if you let a little doubt keep you back?"

"But sir, you're way better than me. I don't have a chance."

"And you're letting that stop you?" There was anger in his words.

"But sir, I—"

"You'll fail, then!" he bellowed. It inspired fear to hear such power from such an unassuming, fragile person. "You can't succeed if you don't take risk. If you bow out of every risky situation, the only roads left won't be worth taking! What kind of success, what kind of life, is sitting back and allowing your adventure to pass you by?"

The young Trainer clenched his fist at his side and closed his eyes.

"Do it! Hit me with everything you've got!" Pryce yelled a second time.

Ciel's eyes shot open and he swung out his arm to command. "Raven! Go!"

"Piloswine, charge!"

The field exploded into motion when both Pokémon kicked off from their standoff position and charged toward each other. Pryce's Piloswine was deceptively fast on its feet and the two rushed to collide. Raven leaped the final distance, reaching her opponent in the blink of an eye.

"Slash!" Ciel shouted with every ounce of his being.

"Double-edge!"

As quickly as it had begun, the battle ended. Raven was forced into the ground by the sheer power of her opponent's full-body move, letting out an agonized howl on impact. She slid along the dirt a short distance before coming to a stop, and knowing the fight had concluded, Ciel rushed to her for help.

She wasn't unconscious, just weakened to the point of immobility. Dirt caked her fur, and running his hands through it revealed sizable bruises and scrapes. She'd need to be taken to a Pokémon Center, quickly, so that none of her injuries worsened.

Ciel looked up as a pair of feet stopped in front of him. He couldn't bring himself to look up.

"A fun battle, wasn't it?"

"I guess so," he offered, halfheartedly.

"How is she, young man?"

"Nothing too severe, but we need to get her to a Pokémon Center," he said.

"A wise decision," Pryce said. He recalled his Piloswine to its personal capsule. The man walked away and beckoned for Ciel to follow.

He nodded, not in response but in silent acceptance to himself. He withdrew Raven's Poké Ball, and clicked the center button. It popped open and his injured partner was engulfed in red before disappearing completely into his palm.

As he stood to follow the former Gym Leader, he noticed a figure standing in the corner of his vision. Ciel turned his head, only to lock eyes with his father. The blond man's arms were crossed over his chest, and he held an expression of judgement. It made Ciel sick, and he walked away as quickly as possible. That didn't stop the feeling of eyes boring into the back of his head as he went.

As he caught up to Pryce, they had nearly already reached the Pokémon Center. Though he hadn't yet seen the building, it was a testament to how small the village really was. A few party stragglers were hanging out around the front, happily sharing drinks and laughs. Pryce and Ciel passed them by, pushing open the door into the worn-looking medical facility.

"Welcome to the Pokémon Center!" a bubbly woman greeted at a counter inside. The building was only a single story and couldn't have been renovated in decades, but it held a warming atmosphere.

Pryce stepped aside the counter. "I need a Pokémon healed, please," Ciel told the woman, offering the capsule. "She was injured in a battle a little while ago.

The nurse, wearing an oversized hat, bowed affirmatively and nearly dropped said hat upon doing so. She took the Poké Ball and disappeared into the back room. Once he sat down to rest, the word "ABSOL" appeared at the top spot on an old hanging monitor that constituted their waiting list.

The Gym Leader took a seat next to him after setting his cane against the wall. His knees buckled, and he groaned in pain while doing the simple action. Probably, he was obligated to congratulate his opponent for winning. In addition, even though he had forgotten in the rush of accepting the challenge, it was still custom to pay a victorious opponent, but he had no money on his person.

"That was an enjoyable battle." It wasn't really directed to Ciel, as if just a thought spoken aloud. "I think it reaffirmed everything I already guessed about you."

"What did you guess?" Ciel asked.

"That you're stuck. You don't yet have conviction as a Pokémon Trainer. Your performance in battle reflected that."

Ciel didn't respond. He was right, of course, so he couldn't refute it. It didn't mean he had to like the assessment.

"You want to embark on your own journey, don't you? Did I guess right?" The man said, shining a sly smile.

There was no reason for him to answer as the old man already had all he needed. It was embarrassing that an experienced Trainer could see right through him, but even more so that a near-stranger's first impression of him was a weakness.

"I was you once, you know. Your mother was you, and I her. We've all been or will be at a point where we don't know what it means. It's not supposed to come easy. You just get better." He let out a cough.

"But, sir, even if I do decide to leave, I don't have a goal to chase. I want to be a real Pokémon Trainer, but what happens after that?"

Pryce nodded slowly, but he was aware that it wasn't just an affirmation. The man understood completely. "Even if you can't see the light yet, that doesn't mean you'll never find it. If you keep going, maybe the road will start to shine."

Ciel stared at him, confused at what he meant. He just shrugged. "It's from a book I read in college once. An awful book, to be honest. No real substance to it. Strange it stuck with me so long."

The man rolled up his sleeve, revealing an old yet expensive looking mechanical watch. His eyes widened a bit, and he abruptly grabbed his cane and stood from his seat.

"I've let the time slip away from me!" He laughed. "A geezer like me needs his beauty sleep. I'm sure a growing boy like you needs some as well."

"Thanks for the battle, Mr. Yanagi," Ciel said.

The man simply grunted and pushed open the door to the Pokémon Center without another word. This left Ciel to his own musings, much to his dismay. All the action was helping him put off thinking about it.

The old man was definitely holding back, there was no denying that. His Pokémon barely even moved until its final charge and could have probably even avoided the only hit Raven landed if it really had wanted to. The difference between someone like him and a seasoned, veteran Trainer was jarring. Yet, it didn't really make him feel any worse.

The man was goading him to go forward, following the fire in his heart, but it wasn't that simple. Unfortunately, he'd have to decide soon. Ciel was on the cusp of adulthood and it was his duty to find his own guidance, or else he'd never really grow up. There were so many things that he didn't know and so many daunting tasks ahead, and they were barrelling towards him. It sucked.

The nurse told him that Raven's injuries weren't severe enough to require extensive treatment, but his partner would still have to stay overnight to be fully recovered. He was grateful for that. Looking around the Pokémon Center at the peeling, yellowed wallpaper and rustic designs didn't give him a good impression. Without knowing otherwise, he assumed their medical equipment might be as old as the building was.

Ciel's boots crunched through the snow as he walked towards their new home. He didn't find himself hungry enough to seek out food at the welcoming celebration for his parents. His sister and mother would enjoy it enough for him as well. He stopped in front of the small cabin they were contracted to live in, wondering how it could fit a family of four. He fumbled with his copy of the key and pushed open the door.

It didn't take him long to find his room; rather, he found a random room, since his family agreed to figure it out as they went. He quickly undressed from the day's clothing and hit the pillow, just wanting to sleep. His family spent most of the day cramped on a train, and even after that, he'd still agreed to battle. Ciel was exhausted.

"I can make a decision tomorrow," he told himself. That thought carried with him as he closed his eyes and tried to sleep.

* * *

Sleeping didn't work out.

It must have been three or four when he decided to step outside. Ciel sat up, groggy from the lack of sleep and rubbed his eyes. After locating shoes and socks and slipping both on, he slid open the door to his room and felt his way along the hall of the small house towards the door, making certain to be slow to not disturb anyone else.

The world was silent as Ciel stepped out into the snow. A fresh coat was falling as he walked, and though he considered going back to find a jacket he'd stashed away in his luggage, he realized he didn't mind so much. If he wasn't going to be able to sleep, at least the cold would wake him up.

Despite the magnitude of the small town's celebration, the square of Mahogany was completely empty as he stepped though. The banners and decorations from earlier were strewn about, probably left after someone decided that they'd pick them up tomorrow. Putting it off, just like him.

Ciel groaned, climbed atop a small hill, and sat down onto the snow-covered ground. Though he hadn't had a destination in mind, he liked the vantage point to be able to see the sky. His mouth fell open a bit as he stared upward. There weren't stars like that in Goldenrod. They were bright and shining and, well, beautiful. The teenager sat like that for a long while, still tired but unable to close his eyes.

Another presence made itself known to him as he sat on the hill. His Absol sat down next to him.

"Do I want to know how you left the Pokémon Center?" he asked, interrupting the question with a yawn.

She growled in response, setting her head down on her front legs. His partner seemed to stare up at the sky as well, though the stars were beginning to dim. The color of the sky itself was brightening, if only a little.

He still had no idea what he wanted to do beyond just becoming a Pokémon Trainer. A lot of people looked up to Gym Leaders and wanted to be just like them, so maybe he could too. He could become just like his mother. He could set his goal even further, like a member of the Elite Four, or even Champion. He could work with his Pokémon to open a business or create his own profession. He could go into breeding and caretaking and work with Pokémon from around the world. Really, he had no clue.

Pryce had the right idea. Ciel still had more time to figure it out, but if he didn't take the first step, he never would. The pieces were in place. He had a partner Pokémon by his side, school behind him, and a desire to find out what exactly his purpose was.

"Hey, Raven," he said, causing her to perk up. "How would you like to travel around the region with me?" The confidence in the question surprised even him.

She closed her eyes and put her head back down, preferring to sleep rather than humor him with an answer. That was understandable, since it was so late.

"Well, I'm taking you with me. You're the one who wants to be the strongest Pokémon around, right?" he asked.

Her eyes fluttered open, and she growled. A passive one, rather than an aggressive one.

"Would it kill you to be excited? Traveling is going to be a fun ride, and we've both got the opportunity to grow," he told her, before staring out at the brightening sky. "I'm leaving tomorrow. I think it's the right decision."

As the two partners enjoyed the simple presence of each other's company, the sun peeked over the horizon. The newly born rays of sunshine revealed themselves to the world, slowly illuminating the dark world with the coming dawn. Suddenly, Ciel didn't feel so tired.

It was a great day for adventure, after all.

* * *

 **Since this is the first chapter, I'd like to pose a few questions for viewers since this chapter will likely have the most traffic out of the entire story. I really appreciate reviews/comments as a source of positive and constructive feedback, so if you didn't like the story, I'd appreciate if you could give me a quick comment about what exactly you thought turned you away or why your interest didn't catch.**

 **\- What strengths and weaknesses do you find in my writing style? What specifically do you enjoy/not enjoy?**

 **\- If you have experience with the series but haven't played the Second Generation games (or, in the rare instance where you have no series experience at all), does the story stand well on its own even if you aren't a hardcore fan?**

 **\- If you are never going to read the story again, please tell me why. Though it may simply be personal preference, I'd still like to know your thoughts on what catches your eye when you read.**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoy the show!**


	2. Troubled First Step

**This story is co-developed by Titan127.**

 **Disclaimer: Pokémon is a registered property of Nintendo, the Pokémon Company, and GameFreak. This work respectfully uses the world and characters of the Pokémon series, with no intent of harm on the original creators. Please support the official releases of the Pokémon franchise.**

 **Chapter 2: Troubled First Step (6,128 words)  
**

* * *

The lab of Professor Linden Elm was more like a home than a place of research. The interior furnishings made it out to be a study. A nice tan wallpaper, potted plants to create atmosphere, family portraits lining the walls, and a desk with an open computer. The only thing that broke up the impression that it wasn't, in fact, someone's residence was the multiple rows of large incubation tanks in plain view and the large mechanical apparatuses surrounding the Professor's desk.

A boy and a girl were standing in wait in front of the machines. Professor Elm had excused himself to go find something and told them to wait in the main room until he returned.

"Whoa…" The boy''s mouth was open wide, his eyes sparkling with interest at the glass case before him.

Three Poké Balls were nestled in defined indentations on a turntable. The machine they were enclosed by flashed with numerous status lights of varying colors. He could only imagine what they were monitoring. It looked so high tech! As he leaned forward to press his eyes against the glass inside the machine, a voice stopped him.

"Ethan, back away from the machine," Lyra said. "I don't trust you not to break anything. No offense."

Lyra was standing with her arms crossed behind her. She was wearing a large, dome-shaped hat and a pair of overalls a size too big.

He obliged and stepped back from the Poké Balls, spinning on his heel for fun. "No, you're right. I don't trust _myself_ not to break anything."

"Good to know we still understand each other," she said. "I'm going to find the professor. I don't know what's taking him so long."

Lyra walked off and disappeared behind a collection of bookcases and refrigerated tanks. After hearing a door open and close, he returned his attention to the Poké Ball container. Ethan adjusted his backwards cap, ruffling the large tuft of hair sticking out the hole.

He couldn't decide which one he would choose. The insane, forest-leveling power of the burning Cyndaquil? The powerful jaws and sheer muscle of Totodile? Or, would he side with the unquestioned command of nature through Chikorita?

The laboratory door opened across the room and an awkward-looking man in a disheveled lab coat stepped out. He was holding a small key in his hand. "Hey, sorry that I took so long, I've brought the- why is he drooling on the glass?"

Ethan hadn't realized it himself, but his cheek was squished against the machine. A trail of saliva was slowly working its way down the side of the clean glass. He swore he was just trying to get a better look.

Lyra stepped out from the other room behind him. "I told him to step back. I really did." She sighed and walked up to her friend, grabbed him by the ear, and dragged him away.

"Ow! That hurts, you know!" he whined.

"Maybe the pain will teach you a little more impulse control," she said, walking her friend to a chair and pulling him down to a sitting position in the seat beside her. She crossed her legs and placed her hands in her lap. Ethan rubbed his ear in pain but straightened up himself. If he wanted a Pokémon, he'd have to be on his best behavior.

Professor Elm pulled out a notebook, flipped through it, scratched out something with a pen, flipped back, then scanned over it again. He finally looked up and tossed the notepad to the side.

"Well, I'm supposed to give you a speech about responsibility or something, but..." He paused. His demeanor was shaky, and his voice repeatedly cracked. "It seems kind of unnecessary. You two are adults, after all."

"At least one of us is," Lyra muttered.

"As part of the Research Outreach program, I have authority to grant you a starter Pokémon when you turn, uhh, eighteen. Sixteen with written recommendation, but that doesn't matter. The condition is that, to ensure proper conduct as you become Pokémon Trainers, you report information back to us—I mean, me—repeatedly," he said. "In all honesty, it's just an excuse to get free field observation work."

Lyra crossed her arms, unimpressed. The professor scratched his head and motioned to the machine.

"So, um," he paused, using the key to unlock the glass case on the machine and slide it open, "take your pick. Fair warning, the Totodile is very aggressive. We've been having problems with it."

Ethan rushed forward from his chair, already having decided which Pokémon he wanted. He wanted unbeatable power. He wanted a fiery and unbreakable determination, a complete control of the elements. But most of all, he wanted…

Ethan pressed the button on the capsule of his choosing and the laboratory room flashed suddenly with a rush of red light. When the beam struck the floor, a glowing form appeared. The colors solidified from neon red to the natural green color of his selected partner Pokémon. Said Pokémon chirped in delight and swung the leaf sprouting on its heads from side to side.

"Why Chikorita?" Lyra and the Professor asked simultaneously.

Ethan turned back to them, a wide smile on his face. He sat down in front of the adolescent Pokémon, and it beamed back at him with matched enthusiasm. "'Cause it's the cutest one."

"Makes no difference to me," Professor Elm said, sitting down at his desk, still shaking. "You didn't, um, need a Pokémon yourself, did you Lyra?"

"No, sir, Professor. I've got my Marill for company. I just came here to babysit my idiot."

"Hey! I resemble that remark!" Ethan whined while playing with his new partner. He rubbed the Chikorita's back and massaged its leaf, and it really seemed to be enjoying the physical affection.

"Anything else you need from us, Professor?" Lyra asked.

"Uhh, not that I know of. Your Trainer Cards are registered, I've got the written consent from your parents, and I can get his Chikorita traded to his PC in a few minutes." He turned to his computer, pulling up his own PC account. "The only thing else I need from you kids is some contact about the growth of your Pokémon. Maybe some notes, too. I've started studying evolution. You knew that, right?"

"Evolution? What kind of info are you looking for?" asked Lyra

"Well, the basis of evolution is well documented," he explained. "Pokémon naturally grow in size as they mature by storing surplus nutrients and materials in their bodily tissue. At a certain point, various types of natural stimuli across different species trigger them to spontaneously metabolize all of their excess materials and rearrange their body structure according to latent structure plans for developmental stages encoded in DNA."

The Professor began speaking faster and faster, turning away from his guests as if he was no longer expositing for their sake. "Successive evolutionary forms, according to multiple studies by the University of Olivine South, provide direct advantages to survival and reproduction, so Pokémon are naturally inclined to seek out evolutionary triggers, even if their species cannot naturally evolve and that behavior no longer has selectionary value. Does this mean that species currently unable to evolve were able to do so at a previous point in their development, and could potentially be accessed through genetic modification or select environmental conditions..."

Despite his enjoyment of playing with his partner, Ethan had since looked up from the floor of the laboratory to stare in awe at the Professor. He had yet to take a breath, and his voice was substantially more confident than it had been before. Even the Chikorita was paying attention.

"…studies have been devoted to narrowing down specific evolutionary triggers and whether or not they serve as evidence to the divergent codevelopment of Pokémon and humans from a single form. This could include but is not limited to physical affection, exercise and stimulation through battle, repeated exposure to environments beneficial to daily activities of a Pokémon's type and relatives, a change in diet, a change in temperature, et cetera." The professor pointed upwards, as if making a note to himself. Deep in his thoughts, he had wandered over to face a nearby wall and continued speaking more to himself than anyone else. "Currently, my focus has been on the relationship between simple bonding activities between Pokémon and Trainers and their evolutionary potential, as well as the great question of whether or not the human factor is an essential and natural part of many species' existence!"

Professor Elm turned back to the two. He quickly cleared his throat.

"That is to say, err, that your job is to walk with and play with your Pokémon repeatedly and report back to me sometimes on what you find. Yes?"

"Regardless of your, ahem, _wealth_ of knowledge, isn't it unscientific to ask for information from untrained kids without any proper testing procedures in place?" Lyra questioned.

The man sat at his desk and turned back to his computer. "I just say what the League tells me to. So, you kids have fun."

That was their cue to leave, so Ethan reached down and picked up his new partner under its front limbs, holding the Grass-type Pokémon to his chest. In addition, he shrunk the Poké Ball in its smaller state. The round object's thin panels collapsed cleanly in on themselves to reduce its size by nearly a half to fit in Ethan's pocket. The door shut behind them as the left, and Lyra sighed. She looked at her friend.

"I'm all packed and ready to go. I said goodbye to my parents this morning and I just need to grab my backpack. What about you?"

"Oh, yeah… No, I've _definitely_ packed already. I'm completely prepared for this," Ethan said.

Lyra raised an eyebrow. However, before she could say anything, and not even a minute after they left the lab, the Professor threw open the door, eyes wide, panicked, and breathing irregularly.

"Help! Someone just stole one of the other Poké Balls! He jumped out the window and ran towards, erm— Route 29!"

Ethan and Lyra looked at each other and nodded in unison. Their adventure could wait. The two Trainers bolted west, Ethan carrying his Chikorita by his chest, hoping they weren't too late to catch the thief. Chikorita squealed with excitement as they ran.

* * *

Dark, expensive jeans.

A worn out, but still fresh t-shirt. It had a graphic design of a Poke Ball, with "future champion" written across it.

Crew socks, high-top sneakers.

Just a tiny bit of hair gel. Just a tad.

With all this, and a duffel bag full of thirteen other sets of clothing and basic essentials, Ciel approached his mother and with resolute confidence, said, "I want to take on the Johto Gym Challenge".

His mother blinked at him. "What?"

"I want to chall- err, take on, go on, the Johto Gym Challenge."

There went the confidence. Her eyes drifted to the bag full of clothing and to his general state of readiness. His partner's Poké Ball was clutched in his left hand.

"Are you completely prepared for this?" she asked.

"Yes." No. "Yes," he repeated, more for himself than her.

Surprisingly, that was all it took. He wished goodbye to his sister, receiving a tight hug and a flow of tears in return, and ignored his father. They also stopped at a general store in Mahogany to collect some basic camping supplies for Ciel to stow away alongside his clothing changes. A few hours later, he and his mother were speeding downstream the mountainside rivers of Route 49. Waves of evergreen trees rushed past them, the smell of kicked up freshwater pervasive.

His mother was sporting her "adventuring wear", consisting of a fine white robe tied at the waist with loose sleeves that came down longer than her arms. The woman looked very much like some folklore snow creature he'd read about before, and though he'd never asked, he chose to believe was intentional.

She stood tall on the shell of her Lapras, holding herself steady with the creature's neck. Meanwhile, Ciel was sitting with his legs stretched out towards the side of the creature, hanging them above the water. He'd stuffed his shoes and socks in his bag to prevent them from getting wet. The beast itself appeared completely relaxed as it continued for hours towards southern Johto, despite the long distance and its three passenger load .

One of those passengers let out an annoyed—and somewhat pained—noise, breaking Ciel's attention from the passing flows of rock.

"Raven, you don't have to be out here with us. I can easily put you in stasis and let you out somewhere where it's easier to rest," he told the Pokémon.

She responded by turning her head the other direction, indicative that she would do as she pleases. Still, he couldn't help feeling bad for her. A nasty bruise showed on her forehead alongside the cut on her side from the flung rock from the Piloswine's Ancient Power.

"Would you like me to give you another potion to numb it a bit?" he asked.

The Pokémon reluctantly positioned herself so the cut was visible to him. He removed a spray bottle from his bag, tore off the spray seal, and applied the numbing agent. "If you're still mad at me for that battle, I understand." Ciel spoke to his partner while treating the cut and stroking her back, the latter action of which she responded more favorably to. "I shouldn't have had you fight an opponent so far out of your league. So, I'm sorry, again."

Ciel was certain she was listening to him, but she either didn't wish to humor him or didn't care entirely. That was fine, he thought. Even if his Absol was angry with him, she still committed herself to his battle against Pryce, and he was thankful for that. If he couldn't make it up to her now, he'd find a way later.

After another hour or so of near-silence, Raven having dozed off behind him, he finally brought up the Donphan in the room.

"So, mom," he began.

She looked down at him, having been staring intently at the rushing waters ahead for a while. "What is it?"

"Why exactly are you letting me do this?"

"Do what?"

"You know," he made a vague gesture to everything around him, " _this._ "

"I've been thinking about it myself, actually. Aside from it being substantially more difficult to travel upstream the Calm Hills River. We can't exactly go back home very easily at the moment." She laughed to herself.

That didn't make Ciel feel any better. He made a face.

"I know I should be concerned, as a mother and as a Trainer, about letting you go out into the wild. Especially on such short notice. But…" She trailed off.

"But, what?" he asked.

"But," she began again, staring back at him, "I did the exact same thing. No real planning, I just went. Traveled Johto in a little over a year."

"And grandma and grandpa let you?"

She shrugged. "We didn't concern ourselves much with safety in the 80s."

"Do you think I'm ready for this?"

"You've been training for over a year, you've watched our example for at least a decade, and you took four, maybe five, years of survival classes in school. Is that right?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I guess so."

"And your partner is no slouch either," she said, turning back to the front that pay attention to the water. "Well, probably a slouch. But definitely a naturally talented Pokémon."

"I believe Raven won't let me down, and I'm not going to let her down either," Ciel said.

"Hmph. Then, there's your answer, Ciel. What that matters is if _you_ think you're ready."

What could he say to that? How could he ever say that he was ready? Like it or not, he was still a kid with no worldly experience to back him, and he was venturing out into a new unknown. There was no certainty. And yet, in the face of his own doubt, all he had to say was, "Yes. I'm ready."

"Besides, in a worst-case scenario, you could just call us to come pick you up and take you home. You could even do that if you get a little homesick. I know I'd love to see my baby boy every once in a while."

Since no one was around, he wasn't embarrassed about being called the nickname. He smiled. "Thanks, mom. It's good to know you're looking out for me."

The world began to flatten, and the calming brown mountains slowly began to be covered by more and more green. The calming brown mountains receded on the horizon behind them. Up ahead, a brilliant forest expanded into the distance, interspersed with grasslands fed by the river delta. It was mid-afternoon, and though the sun was still bright, it was beginning to fall.

As the land flattened, his mother's Lapras picked up speed. As large of a Pokémon as it was, it could really move. If he had to guess, they'd accelerated to 130, maybe 135 kilometers. Even though his mother and the creature's neck were absorbing most of the rushing air, he held on a little tighter to the Pokémon's shell.

Lapras braked itself by thrusting its flippers into the water—they were over shallow enough land that the large creature could reach the bottom. His mother urged her Pokémon towards the shore. They were nearly at their destination already. Nearly eight hours had passed in no time at all.

The two of them stepped unsteadily onto the ground, Raven jumping far ahead into the grass to avoid getting her feet wet. Ciel retrieved his footwear and slipped them on once he touched the grass himself. His mother recalled her Lapras into its Poké Ball and he stood back in wait for his mother to start moving.

"Well?" She gestured into the distance. "What are you waiting for? Adventure awaits."

"Oh. Right." He took his step forward and kept walking, hopefully in the direction of New Bark Town. His mother and his partner followed.

The final leg of their trip down the mountain was the briefest. A town's quiet bustle was evident soon after they let off from the river, with the distinct sound of windmills turning in the distance. Trees thickened into a forest for just a moment, before opening up again. Dirt became pavement. Their destination was upon them.

An anxiety-ridden man in the lab coat made it seem like New Bark was in chaos. He was frantically pacing out front of the closest building to the town's northern border, whispering to himself and shouting about incoherent things. He noticed a few townspeople milling about by adjacent houses. One, a middle-aged woman, was holding a hose to water her garden while staring with a raised eyebrow and a baffled expression at the man and the new arrivals. Ciel just shrugged, unsure what to tell her.

His mother put a hand on her hip. "Don't worry. He's just like this." She approached the man. "Excuse me."

Her call for his attention completely escaped him and he continued his nonsensical rambling. At one point, he turned towards the house and stood in front of the door, rattling off statements to himself, sometimes multiple times. All that Ciel could make out was "thief", "foul play", and "lose my job". The last one was repeated more than the others.

"Excuse me? Professor?" She tried to capture his attention again, to no avail. His mother waved her arms.

He planted his feet firmly in the ground and bent over, hands over his head. The man looked devastated, broken. The muttering continued.

" _Linden!_ " His mother shouted.

He spun around in an instant. "Please don't fire me! It took me fifteen years and three dissertations, I'm qualified, I swear!"

The woman leveled her gaze at him. He blinked one, twice. "Oh. Kori. You're not here to formally remove me from my rightfully earned local research position over a minor incident, right?" His speech accelerated as he spoke until his words blurred into incoherent jargon.

"No, Linden. Calm down. What's happening?"

"Oh, nothing much. It's just that my world is falling apart because one of my League-certified and carefully-bred starter Pokémon granted to me by higher-ups at Indigo was stolen. And I've sent two kids to get it back because I'm an _idiot_." It was visibly apparent how horribly he was holding his entire self together.

"That's awful. How did this happen?" She asked.

The man stared at her with lifeless brown eyes. His face drained to a pale hue. "I don't know. I don't know. I just know that some kid took my Totodile and he jumped out the window and he went that way and that my life is over." After pointing briefly in a vague direction, Professor Elm sank to the ground, curling in on himself. He sobbed. "I've let Samuel down."

"Your life isn't over, Linden. Calm down," her mother said. She rolled her eyes. "Ciel, do you mind heading off towards Route 29 to see if you can find anything? We need to help."

He spared an eye at the Professor, who was now curled up in a fetal position. He'd rather look for the thief than attempt to fix _that_ mess. "Raven, are you ready?" He asked his partner.

His Absol, who'd been lying down on the pavement in the sun, stood slowly and walked over by his side. The two shared a glance, before heading off in the direction of Route 29. He wasn't expecting to start with trouble, but if it got him going, he had no reservations.

* * *

Their footfalls crunched loudly and repeatedly over sticks and months-old dead leaves littering the underbrush of Route 29. A strong dirt smell pervaded through the forest, immersing Lyra in the natural mood of Johto's wildlife. Every so often, an Apricorn tree passed by, dotted brightly with their hard, colored fruit.

A large part of her wanted to stop and smell the figurative roses. She had expected to be able to savor the feeling of freedom as they begun trekking through the wilderness. Hiking in the days, camping out at night, spending time with their respective Pokémon, she wanted to sink right into nature itself.

She was annoyed, then, to find herself having to continually pick up her pace, rushing full speed through the forest. A low-hanging branch approached quickly, and she leaped gracefully over, landing one foot in front of the other without losing any momentum. She couldn't waste any time if they were right behind the thief. After all, they had left almost immediately after he had broken into the Professor's lab, right? And, it was unlikely that he'd have anywhere to go but straight across the path of the route towards the city of Cherrygrove. There weren't really any other noteworthy places for him to go, and the trees thickened immensely the further from the primary route path.

She couldn't think about the possibility that she was going the wrong direction entirely and that this may be a complete waste of time. The Professor was counting on them.

"Ow! Agh! Thorns! Hold up, would you?" Ethan called from behind her.

Unfortunately, _someone_ may not have gotten the memo. She turned her head, seeing her friend lagging behind. His newly-owned Chikorita was clutched to his chest and seemed to be enjoying its Trainer's bouncing. The creature bobbed its head back and forth, its leaf swaying around and smacking across Ethan's face. He blew at the leaf, trying to push it away. Ethan himself was keeping alright pace but had tripped over the branch she had just cleared.

"Seriously, Lyra. I can't run that fast while holding this adorable baby!" He held the Chikorita out with both arms as he ran, mimicking the opening scene to that one movie the two of them watched over and over as kids. It released a sound that could best be described as a "squee", obviously having the time of its life.

"Put it back in its Poké Ball, then!" She shouted, powering the muscles in her legs to run faster.

"What kind of parent would I be, then? I can't shelter my children forever!"

"You're not a… what do you mean 'forever?' You've only had it for five-" she cut herself off. She didn't even know why she bothered, he was impossible half of the time. "Just keep up. I think I see someone."

She pulled to a stop as the trees opened, creating a small clearing where stood a boy in dark clothing, mostly blue. He wore a navy jacket with a red trim, the secondary color matching the striking hue of his hair. Whoever he was, he was heavily out of breath, bent over with his hands on his knees. He looked up at them and his eyes widened. With a double-take, the guy rushed away, intent on disappearing further into the forest.

However, his escape was short-lived. His foot caught on a tree root. He toppled over. Hard.

Lyra, panting heavily and out of breath, managed a laugh. "You're the thief? That's a bit sad."

A fist slammed to the ground, and his head slowly turned back towards them from the forest floor. Covering it was an intense scowl—one that could easily kill a person. He slowly stood up, reaching suspiciously into his pocket.

"Give us back the Pokémon, guy," Ethan told him.

The boy turned around suddenly and threw an item from his hand. The missing Poké Ball soared across the gap, before it popped open in a sudden flash that illuminated the underbrush of the forest. The momentum of the capsule carried into the monster it unleashed, sending Professor Elm's Totodile through the air, directly at the two, with its jaws gaping wide.

Lyra lunged to the side to avoid the oncoming attack, and Ethan did the same by falling unceremoniously onto his rear with his Chikorita in his arms. The reptilian Pokémon landed past them on the ground, turning back at the two and snapping its jaws at them. It looked angry and stressed, even though it had just been released. That must be the "problem" the Professor mentioned.

"Totodile, use Bite!" the thief commanded.

"Ethan, I don't have my Marill with me. Do something!" She shouted, stepping back to avoid the short, but dangerously toothed creature as it clamped down on open air.

"Alright, little buddy, you're up," he said to his new partner, before setting it on the ground. "Use Tackle!"

She could feel her breath hitch in her throat as she narrowly pulled her foot away from the Totodile's jaws. However, she was given a bit of relief as the green body of Ethan's own Pokémon knocked her aggressor off its feet. The thief's combatant rolled into the base of a tree.

"Call off the Pokémon, thief," she ordered the boy.

"Not until you leave me the hell alone," he growled. "Totodile, get up! Get up!" She couldn't help but wince at his tone. It was angry. Malicious. Just who was this kid to act like this, let alone steal a Pokémon? He seemed disturbed. Scared, even.

"Alright, Chikorita, use, uhh," he paused. "Lyra, what else does Chikorita know?"

"Really, Ethan? Try Razor Leaf," she told him.

"Right! Chikorita, Razor Leaf!" her friend ordered, voice full of determination.

The small Pokémon's leaf crown shined a brilliant green hue. It swung its head forward, the appendage following the movement of its head like hair, snapping forward at the opponent, releasing the energy in a small crescent that crossed the distance towards the Totodile.

Lyra watched in amazement at the display. Realistically, Chikorita shouldn't be able to know Razor Leaf until it had proper training to use energy-based attacks. She'd only recommended it because it was the first move she could remember off the top of her head.

The thief's Totodile had just barely recovered from being barreled into the tree when it was struck across the face. The impact was larger than anticipated, and it was thrown to the ground. This time, it didn't get up.

Her friend's face lit up. "Wait, did I do it? I did! We won our very first Pokémon battle, Chikorita!" Ethan was completely ecstatic and rushed over to scoop up his partner into his arms and twirl around. His partner had almost as much enthusiasm as he did. It was proud of itself.

His celebration was cut short as the thief walked up to him with that same deathly scowl. As Ethan turned to him, a fist met his face. The boy's arm powered right through him with a striking punch. Her friend dropped to the ground, losing grip on his partner Pokémon.

"Ethan!" Lyra called out in concern as she quickly curled an arm under him to prevent him from hitting the forest. He was unresponsive, as if still processing the pain, but he did let out a small groan. She felt nothing but anger now, glaring at the thief while still holding the other Trainer.

The navy-clad thief put his hands in his pockets and walked over to the knocked-out Totodile. His form loomed ominously over the unconscious Pokémon. The boy extended a leg and struck the creature that had fought for him, accompanied by the sickeningly dull sound of his sneaker hitting flesh.

"I can't believe you're so fucking weak! Useless pile of garbage!" he roared at the Totodile. The delinquent retrieved the Pokémon's Poké Ball, recalled the creature back into the PC, and walked off into the forest.

Lyra could only watch in horror as he disappeared into the trees. The need to be beside her friend prevented her from chasing after him. Lyra turned down to Ethan, who already had a bruise forming on his face.

"Are you okay, Ethan?" She asked, concerned.

"Is Chikorita okay? I dropped her really hard. And yeah, I'm fine. I think," he said, shakily and with another groan.

Her? The Pokémon was sitting on the ground next to them, unharmed. She looked concerned for Ethan, scooting up close to see.

"She's not hurt. But the thief, he got away. I should have chased after him."

"No, don't worry about it. Thanks for, uhh, holding me." Ethan sat up after groaning a third time. He averted his gaze, clearly embarrassed.

"I just watched him kick his Pokémon, Ethan. We need to find him."

"Yeah, we do. But, I need a bit. Maybe a lot of bits."

Another rustling caught Lyra's attention, and she looked up through the forest. Another boy was standing there, not the thief who had previously run off but someone else. He had blond hair and simple casual clothes and following him was a Pokémon she didn't recognize. Lyra and he locked eyes. Ethan also turned his head to the newcomer, his bruise visibly making his face purple.

"So," the boy started, looking them over, "did you find the thief?"

* * *

By the time the three Trainers had returned to the lab, the sun was steadily falling to late afternoon. Ciel was somewhat annoyed that the thief had already disappeared and that he had gone into the forest for basically nothing. Raven wasn't taking it very well either and seemed grumpy herself. Maybe she was lamenting not being able to battle again, since she was sitting on a loss. He knew how much she liked to prove herself.

As they walked, he learned the two Trainers' names. Ethan and Lyra. Apparently, they were childhood friends. Lyra, the girl in the poofy summerly clothes, did most of the talking, because Ethan appeared to have not had a good time when they caught up to the Pokémon thief. The trio pushed open the door to the lab, where his mother and Professor Elm were sitting, the former talking to the latter as if it was a therapy session.

"Hey Mom, we're back," Ciel announced.

The Professor bounded inhumanly fast from his chair to directly in front of them, his eyes wide and bloodshot. Had he been crying? His speech was erratic and breathless. "Did you catch the thief? Where is my Pokémon? Where is it?"

The three teenagers looked between each other, not wanting to be the one to break the news. "We don't have it," Lyra finally said, shaking her head at the floor.

The man walked over to his desk and slammed his head down, letting out a painful and pathetic noise. No one in the room said anything, all equally disappointed at the lack of a happy ending.

"But," the girl continued, "we do have this." She held up a small rectangular item, a card with the thief's face plastered over it. Next to it, his name was displayed. Silver Sakaki.

"You found his Trainer Card?" The woman asked.

"He apparently dropped it when Ethan and Lyra fought him," Ciel said, recounting what the two friends had told him on the way back.

"Hopefully, we can use this to ask around if anyone has seen him." Lyra tried to take the situation positively. She stashed away the card in her pocket. "It's not much, but it's a start."

"I'm just glad you tried, kids," Ciel's mother said. "Sorry he had to bother you with this."

"Oh, it's no problem, miss," Lyra told her. "Anyways, Professor, we're going to continue to look for him. You're a family friend, so I owe it to you to try."

All any of them heard was a sobbed, whispered phrase. "I'm going to lose my job."

"Ugh. I need to rest first. And I still need to pack. We can do that tomorrow," Ethan complained.

"I'm with him," Lyra said. "We'll keep after him, Professor, and hopefully we'll get your Pokémon back. See you later, Ciel." The girl waved him goodbye, her friend supplying his own half-hearted goodbye, before the two promptly left the lab. The door closed behind them, leaving only him, his mother, and a sobbing Professor.

His mother looked at him. "What about you, honey?"

"I've got my sleeping bag and dried food. I think Raven and I are going to try to make it to Cherrygrove."

She nodded and stood up. His mother walked over to him and suddenly embraced him in a tight hug. "Please, take care of yourself. It'll be a long trip."

The Trainer smiled, returning the hug. "I will, mom. Raven will look after me as well."

"If you ever need anything, don't be afraid to call. I'll wire some money to your PC account when I get the chance, so you can get more supplies once you reach Cherrygrove."

"Thank you, Mom. I love you."

She hugged him tighter. "I love you too," she said, before abruptly letting go.

"How are you going to get home?" he asked.

"I'll figure it out," she responded with a laugh. "Besides, someone needs to check the damage with the Professor here." She directed towards the sobbing man at his desk.

Ciel laughed himself, and with goodbyes in order, he made for the door. However, he was stopped when his mother had one more thing to say.

"Oh, and Ciel, the Professor had something to give you. You don't really have a choice anymore due to the chaos today, but I'm sure it'll suit you."

A Poké Ball was lobbed in his direction, and he extended his arms to catch it. It slipped from his grasp, and he gasped while he juggled the object before securing it with both hands. Checking its back, the word "CYNDAQUIL" was displayed on the small, unlit information screen. He looked up to his mother, who said nothing, but gave him a knowing smirk.

Ciel returned the gesture. He gave his mother one last wave, before he and Raven exited the Professor Elm's lab into the streets of New Bark Town. Despite the craziness, he was still ready to begin. Raven was too, judging by her strange amount of energy at this time of day. Though it was going to be evening soon, he figured that they still had a few solid hours to make pace through Route 29. Maybe they could reach Cherrygrove by the next day!

"Okay, Raven," he announced. "Let's try this again."

The two partners turned towards Route 29, ready to truly begin their journey. Ciel gripped the new Poké Ball tightly in his hand. If he wasn't confident before, they now had help from one more, and it was one more friend he could hopefully get to know and rely on. Everything was in place, now all he needed to do was take the first step.

He took that step.

* * *

 **Phew, that one took much longer than I expected. I hope I hadn't scared away too many readers by opening with focus on an OC, but I'm making sure to balance between familiar and unfamiliar content. Hopefully, everyone will find something to enjoy. Thank you for reading!**


	3. A Proper Adventure

**This story is co-developed by Titan127.**

 **Disclaimer: Pokémon is a registered property of Nintendo, the Pokémon Company, and GameFreak. This work respectfully uses the world and characters of the Pokémon series, with no intent of harm on the original creators. Please support the official releases of the Pokémon franchise.**

 **Chapter 3: A Proper Adventure (5,025 words)**

* * *

When mom hung up the phone, Ciel knew it was going to be one of _those_ nights. He could see the defeat on his mother's face—the distant shouts from the landline made it clear too. And, as he had come to learn, the later his father came home, the worse it got.

 _Those_ nights involved lots of yelling. Lots of empty bottles. Lots of hiding with Laina in his room, hoping that his father wouldn't extend his problems to them as well. Sometimes it worked. Sometimes it didn't.

It was always the same story, and for some reason his mom thought it was okay. The League had reduced his salary. The League forced him to work overtime. The League did this, the League did that. The League, League, League, League, League. It was always the League's fault, and it was non-stop since his father had gotten his shiny new job a few years ago.

His father had never hit Mom, as far as Ciel knew. He'd never hit him, either, but he'd been on the receiving end of too many slurred rants. However, what made his blood boil was knowing, and having seen in plain view, that his father struck his sister.

Nothing else before had ever made him so angry, so completely enraged. He screamed, he hit back, and more than anything, he cried. A ten-year-old shouldn't cry, they were too old for that. But he still cried, and Mom just consoled him and said that he had a rough day with _the League_. Like that meant anything.

An inquisitive noise got Ciel's attention. Raven was looking up at him, seeming somewhat concerned. The Trainer realized that he'd been staring off into space for a while, so he was glad that someone had pulled him out of it.

"Sorry about that, Raven. I was thinking about something," he said.

The hike had gone well so far. But, he felt it was more boring than it was always made out to be. What ever happened to the leagues of other Trainers around the corner, just watching and waiting for you to make eye contact to drag you into a battle against your will? Television made life seem much more exciting.

The two hadn't really even encountered any wild Pokémon, either. A Sentret had crossed their path before it darted away, and Pidgeys were periodically perched in trees they passed under, but nothing disturbed the partners from their trudge forward. It was late evening and more Pokémon should have been out than ever, but it was quiet.

Every so often, such as it had at the beginning of the hike, the route path would suddenly disappear, nearly entirely. Faint traces of a cleared trail would remain on the forest floor, but it was nearly overgrown. Navigating became difficult, so he came to rely on Raven's keener senses. Though they never shared any actual communication, they soon fell into a rut where she took the lead when the forest thickened, and he took charge along the path.

Ciel stopped in front of a low-lying tree that caught his eye, adorned with bright green, rounded fruit. He thought they looked really pretty and unfortunately very tasty. He hadn't eaten since the morning. In hindsight, he and Raven should have stopped for something in New Bark Town.

Raven had wandered ahead, but turned around upon realizing that her partner had stopped. The Absol approached the tree as well, curiously sniffing at the green bulbs.

"They're apricorns," he explained to Raven. "You shouldn't bite them. I chipped my tooth when I was a kid when I didn't know any better."

Raven hesitantly licked the fruit and then proceeded to completely ignore him. She chomped down on the surface of one of the apricorns, only to recoil as the solid fruit reflected her bite. Her mouth hung open, teeth in pain.

"Told you so." He laughed, earning a growl from the irritated feline Pokémon. "I don't even know why you'd want to eat them. You're a carnivore."

She growled and huffed. He snickered. She growled more.

Ciel opened the duffle bag he was carrying and carefully picked two of the large fruit off of the tree at their stems. Picking too many would kill an apricorn Tree for whatever reason. Most Pokémon would give up after trying like Raven did, so it was just humans who had to be careful to maintain them. The fruits might still be useful, especially to make some juice if they ever got the chance, so he stuffed then away and zipped the bag up. The two continued on their way.

The sun slowly descended, casting shadows over the forest the further and further it slipped down the horizon. Darkened trees faded further into the night until their green wasn't even visible anymore. Ciel could hear the distant sounds of Noctowl hoots. Still, the two kept forward for a couple of hours, hoping to make as much progress towards Cherrygrove as they could. The only navigation he had to go by was the vague pathway cleared through the trees that constituted Route 29, and sparse signs that occurred every kilometer.

Daylight had completely disappeared by the time Ciel decided that his legs couldn't take it any more and sat down in the grass. Really, what finally made him rest for the day was the appearance of a large rectangular building within the sea of trees. Lights shone brightly from within and it was paneled with windows all around.

"This must be one of those Route gates," he said as he came to a halt. "We should stop here for the night."

Raven immediately dropped to the ground and curled up into a ball. She borrowed her head into her front legs, intent on sleeping. Ciel cast judgement at his partner, an annoyed expression on his face even though she wouldn't look up to be able to see it.

"That was fast. Don't you at least want to go inside the nice building?"

The Absol stood from her position, stretched, and then faced away from him. After another stretch and a paw lick, she laid back down.

"Too much work, huh?"

She didn't respond, and that was his cue that he didn't really have a choice. Though, he did vaguely consider recalling her into her Poké Ball and getting some sleep under the nice, convenient, easily-available, and not-at-all-far shelter that was right next to them, Raven was apparently the leader. The Trainer sighed and sat down on the ground, setting the duffle bag in front of him.

First, the tent. It wasn't very large, since it was meant for single use and it was the cheapest item they could find at a whim at the general goods store in Mahogany. Still, it would do enough of a job until he could get to the next city, so he began to set it up.

That proved difficult. There were so many pieces. This pole went here, this one went there. These two have to connect simultaneously on opposite sides of the assembly. He stared over the instructions for a while, before forgetting about them because they made little sense and the contrast on the printed images was too low to see correctly. He eventually sorted the basic idea of the supports and wrapped the canopy around them with velcro straps, so at least he had a place to stay. He threw his sleeping bag inside and zipped it up.

He then moved to set up the fire, using a small bag of dried firewood, which he supplemented with twigs lying around the site they'd settled at. He'd made sure to set the wood over dirt, rather than grass, and even managed to find enough spare rocks to create what vaguely resembled a fire pit.. However, while rummaging through the bag, he realized that they didn't have any matches. Or a lighter. Or a chunk of magnesium. As annoyed as he should be that they had forgotten to bring something, he was more confused as to _how_ they had forgotten.

An idea dawned on him, though, and he reached into his pocket to retrieve the capsule given to him when he left New Bark Town. Ciel rolled it around in his hands. Inside was the first piece to building his team, his group of friends that would help and support him, and he them. For some reason, the Trainer hesitated to open the Poké Ball, simply examining it in his hands. Eventually, he tapped the button and the Pokémon was released.

It squeaked. An excited, mammalian creature searched inquisitively around the campsite. Its eyes were hardly opened, but Ciel knew it wasn't a newborn. It's underside was patterned with tan fur, while a thicker coating of green-blue trailed it's upper snout, head, and back.

Also, it was on fire. It was _really_ on fire.

Ciel scooted back from the Cyndaquil, as its back flame sacs were spewing at full blast. He could feel the heat radiating around them, and Raven seemed bothered enough to move a few feet away before continuing to try to sleep. What a great help she was.

"Hey, little guy, do you mind turning that off?" He pleaded through the wave of heat being expelled from the small Pokémon. "You're going to cook us."

"Ciel only felt the heat intensify as the Cyndaquil walked up to him, patting its legs excited. It acted like a canine Pokémon happy to receive physical affection. "Oh, man," he said, worriedly, as the newcomer approached him. It nuzzled its snout against his leg. His leg was burning. He could appreciate loving contact, but not when his skin was at stake.

"Stop!" he shouted, and the fire abruptly ceased. The sudden sensation of cool washing over him made him sigh in relief.

Ciel leaned forward slowly and stared at his new Pokémon, face-to-face. "You're pretty excitable, huh?

The Pokémon hopped up and down, tapping its long snout to Ciel's own nose. His back flared up again, forcing Ciel to make a motion for the creature to calm down. It seemed pretty responsive to him, which would make sense if it would personally raised by Professor Elm. When he first met Raven, Ciel needed to attend professional language training before she could properly understand him. It was a hassle.

"Okay, Cyndaquil. Cyndaquil... " He paused. "You'll need a nickname sometime. Something to differentiate yourself, you know?"

Cyndaquil hopped and ignited once again. Ciel needed to keep a fire blanket on him, or something.

He turned his attention to the hastily-assembled pile of firewood and kindling in the middle of the circle of stones. Ciel jerked his thumb in that direction. "Use Ember," he said.

His Cyndaquil scurried over to the fire pit and examined the pile of wood with its snout, sniffing at the dry material until it decided it was satisfactory. Then, it sneezed. A burst of flame washed over the assembled firewood and it caught. The Cyndaquil stared at the fire and looked very proud of its handiwork.

Satisfied that they were set up for the night, Ciel made himself comfortable by the fire and retrieved the food he and his mother had bought. He had three packages of jerky, one of which was nearly empty from the previous hours of hiking, and three of assorted dried fruit that he'd only barely touched so far. He dumped a bit of both into his hand and offered it to his new friend.

He grinned as he felt the creature's tongue brush his hand while it ate. He found it thrilling to meet and interact with the new Pokémon, even more so that the Cyndaquil had taken an immediate liking to him. It was certainly easier than getting to know a human stranger. Though, it would be quite a while before he truly knew what the fiery creature was like. That was true for meeting anyone.

Ciel retrieved the Poké Ball again and checked its status screen, or tried to. He had to hold it up to the fire to be able to see it, since it didn't have a light. Next to the name "CYNDAQUIL", a small male symbol was tucked in the corner. So, his Cyndaquil was male.

"What kind of nickname should you have?" He asked himself. Neither of his Pokémon responded anyway, as Raven was already out cold and the newcomer was enjoying the bits of food. "Something related to fire? How about Flint?"

He thought for a moment. No, Flint was a terrible name. He felt bad for anyone named Flint. What an awful sounding name. Flint. Bleh.

Blaze? Phoenix? "No, those are too edgy," he said, completing his thought aloud. Ciel's eyes drifted over to the asleep Raven. He already had one Pokémon named exactly how a thirteen-year-old would name them. The Trainer took a bite of the beef jerky while thinking.

Suddenly, he had a bout of insight, and turned to the Cyndaquil. "Hey, buddy, do you like the name Arden?"

The Pokémon looked up from his party eaten food and stared at him. He tilted his head from side to side, which Ciel believed was the creature considering the name.

"It's not exactly fire-related," he started, "but it sounds like a nice name. And it might distantly mean something in another language. I don't know."

The Pokémon didn't need any more convincing and ignited in excitement once again. The happy squeaks told Ciel all he needed to know. Arden it is, he thought.

"Well, time for bed, you two. Or, one," he corrected, realizing that his partner was already asleep. He considered returning Arden to his Poké Ball, but it didn't look like it was going to rain, and he vaguely remembered that Trainers are supposed to let Pokémon sleep regularly based on how often they are active outside of stasis, or something like that. He bid goodnight to his team, though he left the simmering fire going to ward off any curious wild Pokémon.

He settled into his tent for the night and tucked into the sleeping bag. It was much warmer down south than it was in Mahogany, or even how it usually was that time of year in Goldenrod, and he actually found it uncomfortable. After a while, he decided to lay overtop the bag, put his hands behind his head, and sighed.

Really, Ciel couldn't believe how much he enjoyed his first day. Though it wasn't exactly eventful, just the thought of being out on his own adventure made him happy, and he was able to spend time with his Pokémon. That always counts for something. He couldn't wait for the next day.

As he drifted off to sleep, he thought about nothing but how much he wanted to continue.

* * *

The wind was blowing. Wind always blew through New Bark. It was something Ethan cherished for all the years living in the town—the air was always fresh and there were always new faces coming and going. The town was almost synonymous with Trainers passing through to find their calling.

Sure, it was the home of Professor Elm's lab, so that made it the only logical place for many people to begin their travels through the Johto region. But, he liked to believe it was the town itself that brought people there to begin their rite of passage into a new life. It gave them a sense of direction and pushed them forward, air at their back. The wind blows west, and that's where they go.

Ethan ran his hand along the crisp yet rotting sign in the town square. A collection of plants had overtaken the sign's post and covered the wood in the colorful burst of their blooming flowers. Most of them were marigolds, shining a color befitting their name. His fingernail traced the ridges of the sign above. Winds of a New Beginning. Winds of a New Beginning. Winds of a New Beginning. He read it over and over in his head. Maybe he stared a little too long.

A chirp to his left caused him to turn to his Chikorita looking up at him. "Oh, yeah, we've got to go meet Lyra, don't we?" he asked, scratching his head in embarrassment. For a moment, his eyes lingered on the beautiful flowers, and then back to his partner.

The fledgeling Trainer turned around from the sign, a wide grin plastered over his face. He carried that grin through the sparse rural streets of New Bark, listening for the wind and the omnipresent quiet rotor sound. He thought he should more anxious about leaving home for a long time, maybe forever if he decided to go somewhere else, and then somewhere else. An adventure doesn't end until you let it, he knew.

As the meeting place came into view and he noticed his best friend's face, he realized at least a part of the reason why he was feeling so good. Ethan wasn't leaving _everything_ behind.

"Hey! You're late, you know!" Lyra called out, hands cupped around her mouth for distance and legs crossed on the old bench.

"Sorry about that!" He waved and continued smiling as he broke into a jog to cross the remaining distance. His Chikorita followed his pace delightfully, swaying her leaf in the constant wind. He was absolutely bursting with energy, and he picked up speed until he had broken out into a full-on sprint across the square. He wanted to go, and nothing could stop him.

He did trip over a root and break his fall with his head on the way there, but that did nothing to deter him. Not even the headache.

Lyra rushed over to check if he was okay, flipping him onto his back. "Ah, there he is. You were acting strangely respectable and I was wondering where the real Ethan had gone."

He flipped over onto his back and stared up at the bright sky. Luckily, a cloud was blocking the sun, so he could stare straight up at the midday blue and revel in its glory. "Just feeling a little sentimental. Don't worry, your normally scheduling programming will come right back." He laughed through his own joke.

"Yeah, yeah," she brushed it off, though she chuckled a bit. "I was going to ask how your black eye was feeling, but you've added another problem."

"Well, I can't feel the black eye now, can I? I'd say it's doing good." Really, the throbbing in his head was immense. He was concerned.

She said nothing, but stared up at the sky with him. Despite the pain in his head and the lingering sting from getting socked something fierce, he was still feeling okay. Alright. Great. Excellent. He was so excited! His Chikorita jumped into his lap and curled up, so he brought up a hand to gently stroke his partner's back.

He leaned his head back and found himself meetings his friend's eyes. The reflection of the morning sun off of her face looking like a painting, colors blurring together through his squinted eyes. It put the stupid grin right back onto his face. He'd get to spend the next six months, eight months, however long with the girl he was closest to and he'd enjoy every second of it. Ethan wanted to live life fully, and what better way did he have to do that than with Lyra?

Any normal person would have been embarrassed when caught staring, complete with a smile from ear-to-ear, but he just beamed in the face of the girl's furrowed brow. "Hey."

She sighed, jokingly. "Hello, Ethan. Are you ready to get going?"

"Readier than anyone has ever been ready before," he said, proudly.

Lyra pulled an object out of her pocket and stared at it. It was the same Trainer card than had been dropped by the boy in the woods. Silver was his name, Ethan recalled. What a weird name. He really needed to find that guy and give him a piece of his mind, if not for his own sake than for that Totodile's sake. Hopefully, they'd be able to take back the Pokémon and return it to the professor.

"Do you think we'll find that guy? He could be long gone by now," he said.

"I'm not sure. At least we can say we gave it a fair try. I hope Totodile is okay." She seemed saddened a moment, but moved to change the subject. "Are you completely sure you have everything packed?"

He nodded. "I'm all set. Clothes, food, camping stuff, food, food, and at least three important items inevitably missing." He continued through a disappointed glare. "And, Marigold is ready, too."

He watched in amusement as Lyra blinked, and then looked confusedly around in multiple directions, before she returned to glaring at him with confusion. "Marigold?"

"Yeah, Marigold." Carefully, he lifted the Chikorita off of his lap, holding her up to the sun. Under his palms, he could nearly feel his partner's own eagerness to get out into the world and live life. "It's a good name, isn't it?" he asked her. A delighted chirp told him all that he needed to know.

"How'd you think of 'Marigold'?" Lyra questioned.

"Oh, umm, I saw some marigold flowers on the way over here. By the town sign."

She didn't say anything for a long while. He thought at first that she hadn't heard him and that he'd have to repeat himself, but his friend the burst out laughing, and fell over. The two lifelong friends lied side-by-side, sprawled out in the grass and dirt of New Bark Town. Neither of them would see the face of the windy hamlet for a long time, so he reasoned that they could stay there a little while longer. Just to let the memory soak in.

"You're an idiot, you know that?" Lyra asked.

"Oh, yeah. I'm aware."

"Just so we're clear."

Minutes passed as morning rose into the sky, yet the two of them hadn't moved. Marigold had gone to sleep on Ethan's lap, and he didn't want to disturb her rest. It would help her be energized when they got to hiking. So, they didn't leave for a while.

"Hey, Lyra?" Ethan asked.

"What is it?" she asked in return.

"I really do need some ice, or something. I might actually have a concussion." He paused. "I'm serious."

"You're an idiot."

They definitely didn't leave for a while.

* * *

Ciel groaned. He didn't want to continue.

Why didn't anyone tell him his legs were going to be so sore? It sucked. It really sucked. They were burning and numb at the same time. Even worse, the strap of the duffle bag was starting to dig into his shoulder, so much so that he had to switch the shoulder it was resting on every twenty minutes. Is this what walking for eight hours straight does to a person? Why hadn't he realized it before?

Ciel trudged along through the forest. How far had he traveled? He had to be almost there. He had to be. Conveniently, the route gave him a sign within twenty minutes of asking that question.

"One-hundred sixty kilometers to Cherrygrove?! Are you kidding me?" He groaned heavily, and slunk back to the ground. "That's almost…" he counted on his fingers, assuming they went thirty or so the day prior and would go further each successive day, "...four days."

The sign also listed a town called Catallia vering off from the right of the path where the trees parted slightly, but it was 35 kilometers from that point. He had no idea what town that was and he'd never seen it on a map, and it was just time away from reaching Cherrygrove. There was no point.

He released another long, drawn out groan. He was not ready for this at all. Why was it traditional to take on the Gym Challenge on foot? What had vehicles done to deserve this neglect?

Still, he pushed forward through the forest path with Raven in tow. The Absol was doing much better than him due to her natural physiology and muscle structure, or at least he assumed so, and it was making him jealous. He'd trade his aching thighs and calves for Pokémon legs if it would make this trip any less painful. It provided a strangely useful distraction to imagine the different legs he could steal as the partners continued their hike.

Nothing occurred for the remainder of the day, from sunrise to sundown. They had walked about fourteen hours before Ciel decided he could walk no longer and set up for the night again. He took them away from the path where it led to a small clearing, since he reasoned that he shouldn't be in the way of any other Trainers passing through.

It was sizeable enough, though the opening in the tree canopy meant that grasses were growing high and a fire wouldn't be advisable. They could go without for a night, probably. However, he was interrupted in the process of pitching the tent by a sudden cooing sound. The Trainer dropped the tent and turned his head reflexively in the direction of the noise.

A Hoothoot? The bird Pokémon was sitting on a low-lying tree branch, boring into them with its bright red eyes. The round discs shined as if curiously observing them, the creature turned its head from side to side, which amounts to its entire round body swaying on the anchor point of its foot. Feet.

Raven stepped in front of him and issued a challenge at the wild Pokémon, growling savagely. The defense was somewhat unnecessary. It was a Hoothoot. What was it going to do?

"Uhh, shoo," he told the Pokémon, tiredly, and turned back to the tent. "I'm doing something here."

It cooed at him. He flicked his hand at him in a "go away" gesture.

He barely had time to react before the Hoothoot let out a piercing screech and launched itself right at his head, claws outstretched. The Pokémon's claws raked across his face and head and he yelped in pain, trying to swat away the bird with his arms. It hooted angrily and continued its onslaught. "Agh! Get it off of me, Raven!"

Out of the corner of his eye, in the midst of the flash of feathers and sharp appendages, he could barely spy Raven sitting calmly nearby. Her features were snide. She would laugh at him if she had the physical ability to do so.

"I get it! Ow! I shouldn't- ow! I shouldn't have provoked it. Now help me!" he complained.

His partner tackled the creature out of the air. Ciel threw himself out of the way of the battle and prepared to command as best as he could with the warm feeling of blood streaming down the side of his head.

"Raven, use Slash!"

His partner followed through with her attack, swinging her horn around to strike the grounded bird in its side. The opponent toppled to the side and flew backwards, flapping its wings to carry itself into a nearby tree as a vantage point. A cut was evident across its left wing, but it didn't seem slowed by the injury. After releasing a second screech, it once again launched itself from the tree and dove downwards, beak bared forward.

"Dodge it!" he called.

Raven dove away from the oncoming bird missile and skidded into the grass. She bared her teeth, her claws, and angled her horn to face her opponent for optimal battle position. The wild Hoothoot flapped its wings and gained altitude, before turning mid-air and spiraling into a second dive directly towards her.

This thing is relentless, he thought. He had to slow it down somehow. "Meet it with Quick Attack," Ciel shouted from his vantage point near the incomplete campsite.

His partner flashed forward and struck the oncoming small bird with a lunge from her claw, quickly but without much muscle power. The clash of beak and claw sounded an uncomfortable scraping noise. The bird redirected itself and raised back into the sky to dive again, making it clear it wasn't going to let up anytime soon.

As the wild Pokémon flew back again, he tried a different move. "Bite!"

In retrospect, he probably should have specified how she use the move, and she seemed to hesitate for too long as the bird shot for her once again. Raven stood her ground, lowering herself defensively in preparation of the oncoming charge. Wings flapping echoed through the late evening forest. The offensive peck seemed all but assured to land its mark.

With surprising adeptness, Raven sidestepped the pass and bit down—hard—on the Hoothoot's wing, abruptly canceling its momentum and pulling to the ground. She immediately let go of the bite as the agitated intruder crashed. It was releasing whimpering sounds into the forest. It made him wince. Though he didn't tell her to do so, Raven began to slowly approach the downed wild, ready to pounce.

"Stop, Raven," he said. "You won."

His Absol ignored him. She naturally stalked the downed prey, her claws fully extended, her horn at the ready.

"I said stop, Raven," he warned her, fumbling with her Poké Ball in his pocket. He needed to stop her before she killed the poor thing.

However, an ominous presence became known to him. Eyes. Large, red, disc-shaped eyes. Two. Four. Eight. Sixteen. Oh, no. A collection of bone-chilling, yet unnervingly soft hoots resonated among them. Raven looked up as she stood above the downed creature.

He craned his head up, slowly. Atop the tallest tree within their campsite, a towering, shadowy figure rose above the rest. A large crest was outlined atop its piercing, glowing eyes. A Noctowl.

"Run!" he shouted, as he bolted off into the forest, barely grabbing the unzipped duffle bag.

Raven forgot about her potential meal and chased after him just as the Noctowl released a howling screech throughout the forest, and the entire flock of Hoothoot dove from the trees in pursuit. The forest became alive in the night, and Ciel ran for his life.

* * *

 **In all honesty, it took far too long for me to finish this chapter relative to the actual content. This was my first published attempt at writing a chapter solely focused on travel and adventure, and I think it worked rather well, but I could probably have finished this much faster if I had committed more to it. I'm back to focusing on classes and overall it's just been somewhat of a hassle. However, the next chapter should be finished faster, and now that I actually have Microsoft Office, I'll probably catch more errors due to the active suggestions in Word. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it, and come back later for Chapter 4: Find True North.**


	4. Find True North

**This story is co-developed by Titan127.**

 **Disclaimer: Pokémon is a registered property of Nintendo, the Pokémon Company, and GameFreak. This work respectfully uses the world and characters of the Pokémon series, with no intent of harm on the original creators. Please support the official releases of the Pokémon franchise.**

 **Chapter 4: Find True North (5,914 words)**

* * *

He hadn't washed his hair in days. There were bits of twigs and leaves intermingled with his strands, which, by the way, were strewn everywhere in disarray by the sheer amount of oil that had built up. His normal slick look couldn't match the weathering power of the elements.

He had scratches all over his face and back. His favorite shirt was ruined. He wanted to go home.

The tent was still in some forgotten clearing off Route 29, days behind them, after they'd abandoned it due to their… mishap. He slept on the hard ground for two nights, without any convenient fur to cushion him, of which his partner had made it a habit to flaunt at his dismay. He just wanted a nice, comfy bed to sleep in. Maybe his bed back in Mahogany. Maybe even his bed in Goldenrod.

Was this just his mother's way of teaching him a lesson? He would bet that she's just waiting for him to reach Cherrygrove and call her in desperation, and she'd laugh at his foolishness. He'd _thought_ he was ready on a whim because of a single battle against a powerful Trainer. He'd _though_ t that classroom survival training translated into preparing him for the thick of it. Boy, was he a complete moron.

One positive he'd found was that his legs didn't hurt anymore. That was a combination both of his attention to the more painful cuts and bruises from a swarm of angry bird Pokémon, as well as the fact that he may have lost feeling in his legs altogether. Either or.

What bothered him most about the trip so far was Raven's response to the downed Hoothoot. It was natural for Pokémon to exhibit predatory behavior, but the idea of her doing that during a sanctioned battle and seriously injuring, or even killing, another Trainer's Pokémon didn't sit well with him. Worse, she had refused to listen to him when he told her to back off, just as she'd refused his advice about the Apricorn on the first day. Perhaps it was punishment for commanding her to charge directly into a battle that he knew would best her and getting her hurt as a result. It was evidence that he was still far and away a novice, and that his relationship between Raven as Trainer and Pokémon was lackluster at best. He still had so much to do.

However, as much as Ciel wanted to sit down and sit with Raven and talk, he was worried about something else. Food. He put his thoughts away for a while.

As their hike continued, he felt himself growing hungrier. The dried food he'd packed hadn't been enough. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to have rationed it better, or if they just didn't buy enough at the Mahogany general store, or if it was only for him and he was supposed to keep his Pokémon in stasis, or… it didn't matter. He was out of food. He couldn't even eat the apricorns he had stashed in his bag until he got someone to juice them for him.

The landscape was growing so dull. The same trees over and over. It was putting him to sleep. Or maybe it was the starvation. Yeah, that was it.

Ciel collapsed to his knees, unable to walk any further. He felt his stomach screaming out. It was over for him. The young man curled up on the ground. "Ughhhhh," he groaned out. He was dying. It was over for him.

"So, are you going to keep lying there like a drama queen, or what?" asked a voice.

Ciel craned his head along the ground, trailing up towards a person standing nearby, feet tapping on the dirt path. He was wearing casual clothing, with a messenger bag strapped over his shoulder. He was certain their attire was mostly green, but it was overshadowed by the blinding light of the falling sun behind his figure. An angel had come to save him.

"I'm… starving," he choked out.

"No, you're not. You'd be a lot thinner and paler." A very cynical angel. "Also, your fluffy thing over there doesn't seem to care."

He looked over at Raven, who was sitting in the grass and licking her paw. She appeared completely indifferent to the entire conversation, letting out a large yawn.

"She does that. Look, can you just help me? I've been out here for days, man," he asked, sighing and trying to sit up.

"Well, helping is definitely what I do," he said, stepping across the path to stand in front of Ciel. As the man extended his hand, Ciel noticed the Poké Ball designs across his bag and a Super Potion hanging from his lanyard. He took the hand and stood to meet him.

"Hey there, stranger!" the man said, jubilantly. "The name's Brent Custos, and I want to be a hero."

* * *

Stepping out into the cool air of the shower room felt unreal. He'd never been more relaxed in his whole life. Combining a simple refreshing pleasure with four days of continuous walk through the forest brought him to another state of being. Ciel wanted nothing but to stay huddled up inside his mass of rented towels forever.

But, he realized soon that he couldn't sit around any longer, despite how much he wished to. He apparently had someone waiting.

He dug through the remains of his duffle bag, lamenting that he hadn't carried any plastic bags, or something. The dirty clothes were all mixed up with the cleans, though he rationed that nothing inside the bag was completely clean anymore. There was dirt caked along the insides that he'd picked up at one point or another. After finding a few articles that didn't smell too bad, he hastily threw them on, tossed the towels in a bin, and exited the shower room.

Ciel hadn't had the opportunity to fully appreciate the Pokémon Center as he rushed in to clean himself off, but… wow. The building was massive, filled to the brim with postmodern design touches. As he walked down the hallway from the restroom area, the space opened into an even larger front lobby that shined red from the neon walls. Cherrygrove wasn't even that large of a city, yet the Center dwarfed and outshined even the one in Goldenrod.

Up front, various shop stalls stood open for travelers, and a set of stairs led to a second floor with a balcony overhang.

"Hey, look who finally decided to show his face again. You were in there for over half an hour."

He walked over to the couch that the man, Brent, was reclining on. Raven was dozing on the space next to him, her front paws dangling off the piece of furniture, claws kneading the air in response to the hand stroking her back. The man gave a knowing grin.

"Your Pokémon seems to like me more than she likes you," he said.

Ciel took a seat. "That might not be an exaggeration," he replied.

"I've never seen a Pokémon like this. Very exotic. Where'd you get it?"

"Do you want the short version or the long version?"

Brent considered that for a moment. He shrugged. "Short, I guess."

"Okay. I went camping in Hoenn for a vacation once and almost died. She's an Absol, and I call her Raven," Ciel explained.

Though Brent nodded in understanding, the two fell into a tense silence, filled in by the bustle of other people milling about the Pokémon Center. A group of teens were playing a card game on a nearby table and laughing joyfully. He found it annoying. But, he was that teenager, so he didn't say anything.

Instead, he focused on a large neon sign hanging over one of the center's eateries. His eyes were feeding visuals directly to his stomach, which growled softly. Ciel hadn't downed anything the entire day, since his dried food was all gone, and he hadn't crossed a stream for a while.

After a bit, he decided that sitting unresponsive next to a stranger—who was still petting his own Pokémon, by the way—was too awkward to handle. He coughed, and the man turned to him curiously while hanging his free arm back over the couch.

"So, you're not from around here, are you?" Ciel asked.

"What?" Brent shot him a confused glance. "What do you mean? I live here."

"Wait, really? What about your name, then?" There were too many questions being thrown back and forth.

"Huh? My dad was Unovan," Brent chided. "What about you, Mr. Ciel? That's Kalosian. Not very local, if I do say so myself."

Ciel scratched the back of his head, feeling embarrassed at his accusation. He shouldn't have assumed the man was foreign, since Ciel himself was a rarity among Johtoans for having blond hair. "My mom's a bit of a romantic," he said to justify his own name. "Anyway, thanks for helping me make it here. And paying for my shower."

"Don't sweat it. I'm just doing my job as a hero." He threw his other arm back behind the couch and propped one ankle up on his other knee. There was a worn-out sandal on his foot.

"A hero?" Ciel made his skepticism obvious.

"Yeah. A hero. That's who I want to be."

A hero. He sat there thinking about what exactly that meant, and how anyone could intentionally try to be one. A hero was someone who dramatically saved the day, was rewarded handsomely, and lived on in legend, like those buff action movie characters who commanded six Pokémon at once. When was the last time that a real person, let alone some eccentric weirdo from what could hardly be called a city, was called a hero?

Brent was eyeing him and grinned with a raised eyebrow. "I can tell you think it's a bit strange. Most people I've talked to do."

"No, no, it's cool," he said, putting his hands up in a defensive gesture. "I'm just not sure what exactly being a hero means to you."

The man put a hand on his chin. Evidently, even he wasn't so sure about what it meant, and needed to think over it for a little while. Eventually, he said, "It just means… to be there for someone, I think." He paused again. "You don't have to save the world or do anything special, at least not to start. You can just help someone out, try your best, and believe that what you're doing is right. If you're a hero in the eyes of at least one person, you've done a good job, and then you keep going. And, if you keep doing that, eventually, you'll find that you've made a real difference. That's who I want to be."

Ciel couldn't take his focus off the man. His tone had changed from joyfully confident to a softer, more grounded state. It was apparent that this was something the man really cared about, and with that in mind, he couldn't help but respect Brent Custos. Here he was, ready to go out into the world and make a difference, yet Ciel hadn't even the vaguest idea of what he wanted to do with himself.

Brent must have realized that the conversation became awkward again and flashed a wide grin. "Anyways, what about you? You're a Trainer too, so do you have any specific goals?"

There it was. "No, I don't. I don't really even know why I'm here, or if I want to keep going," Ciel said. Well, if he was accurate, he was here because one of the greatest Trainers in the region gave him a short-lived confidence boost. Maybe that had backfired.

"Why don't you come along with me for a while?"

"What?" he was nearly stunned at the offer.

"Come along with me. I'm heading to Violet City soon to check out the Gym and maybe a few sights. I've heard Pokémon Training is always better with a friend."

It didn't take Ciel long to consider that offer. The young Trainer outstretched his hand, and locked eyes with the man. Brent grinned and shook his hand, his grip matching the confidence he exuded.

"I need to head to a Poké Mart," Ciel said. "My mother told me she was going to send money to my Trainer account, and I need to pick up a few things."

"Right on, then. Follow me."

The two left the Pokémon Center shortly afterward with an annoyed Raven in tow. She didn't seem to like that no one was giving her attention anymore. Ciel couldn't help but snicker at her dismay, earning him a growl.

Outside the Center, though it wasn't a very large city, the architecture and urban feel of Cherrygrove was impressive. Nearly every building in sight was adorned with a pleasant, rust-red roof and cream-colored siding—even the two high-rise apartment complexes held the same decorative unity. Ciel looked down into the waters of a river that cut through town as they crossed the bridge above, noticing a group of Corsola wading along the bottom. If he was correct, the river ran all the way out to sea and the city was directly in the middle of the greater delta.

As they walked by two blossoming trees, he was reminded to inhale and take in the smell. Boy, was that really something. The aromatic recipe of saltwater and cherry blossoms nearly put his senses on overdrive—he wanted to faint. In a pleasant way, of course. He began to look around for any sign of the Poké Mart, thinking that they had missed it.

"Hey, are you sure you know where you're going? I thought Poke Marts were always near a Pokémon Center."

"No, you're right. I was just detouring to show you my home city," Brent said with an undertone of mischief.

Well, it wasn't a bad experience. Ciel had always loved to travel, which is one reason why his trip to Hoenn was so fond in his memory. Not much was more exciting, he thought, than taking in new sights and an unfamiliar way of life. It was a mark of how much more there was to see, and simultaneously how little he had seen. As he appreciated the cherry blossoms and ignored the residual aches in his legs during their walk, he rationalized that to be at least part of the reason why he wanted to be a Pokémon Trainer.

They had walked in what amounted to a massive circle before Brent led Ciel back to the Mart. He tried to ignore the fact that the two were in plain view of each other.

"I'll just wait out here while you gather what you need," Brent said as he leaned against the blue outer wall of the building. Ciel nodded and stepped through the doors, Raven following him inside.

Inside the store, the young Trainer didn't waste much time perusing the goods. Any Trainer worth their salt knew what they needed: Potions, Status Cures, Escape Ropes, Repels, and most importantly, Poké Balls. He was ecstatic to finally be able to catch his Pokémon at his own discretion. It was what made Pokémon training, well, training. Ciel walked through the small, exceedingly white shop, stepping across the tiled floor to the first aisle he was interested in. He picked a case of fifteen capsules off the shelf, marked with a brightly-colored discount tag and the crest of the Pokémon League.

In the next aisle, Ciel grabbed an armful of Potions and one of each of the Status bottles, minus an Ice Heal. A few Repels were added to the growing pile in the boy's arms, and he regretted not picking up a basket. He fumbled with the payload and shouted in surprise as a Repel canister dropped out of his arms towards the floor.

He watched in horror as the can fell directly in the path of Raven's head. In the half second before it clocked her, she swung her blade around and sliced the can in two. The pressurized object exploded, splattering the foul-smelling repellant everywhere around the aisle they were standing.

"Raven!" he shouted while waving a hand in front of his nose. "I have to pay for that!"

A few other people in the shop were staring at him, his Pokémon, and the the mess he had made. His Pokémon turned her head away, snobbishly, and trotted off towards the checkout counter. Ciel followed his partner back to the counter, where she then sat as if waiting for him to clean up her mess. He and the cashier shared a look.

As he placed the undamaged items on the counter, he realized that he never actually checked his PC account in the Pokémon Center, so he had no idea how much money he could spend. He really wanted to buy a snack or something, but he didn't want to push his available funds. Ciel decided not to risk it, and fortunately, his Trainer Card wasn't declined after the total. The Trainer sighed in relief. It still set him back ₽5400, but hopefully he'd make it last for a while until he could make some money of his own. The cashier, a young man probably about his age, didn't press him about the mess, so he left the building awkwardly with his plastic bag full of goods. Raven strolled in smug manner behind him.

His new acquaintance was still waiting for him outside and held back a snort upon seeing him. "Something exciting happen?"

"I won't be bothered by wild Pokémon for a bit," he said, dryly.

He sniffed the air, scrunched his nose, and then whiffed away. "Geez. I can tell. You ready to go?"

"Just give me a second," he said.

Ciel reached into his pocket and withdrew one of his two registered Poké Balls. He quickly fired the beam at his partner, and she reeled back, frozen in surprise as she dematerialized. It wouldn't make much difference to her, since Pokémon in stasis feel like they're immediately displaced from one place to another, but he didn't want to deal with her for the moment.

"Okay," he said, "now I'm ready."

"Fine with me. Now, we head north!"

"North? Now? You just said you were leaving 'soon'," Ciel questioned. He didn't want to leave immediately. He still needed time to rest his legs and hopefully regain some semblance of motivation and purpose. And he still needed to do laundry somewhere. And eat. And call his mother.

"Don't worry, we're not going to be doing a lot of walking." Brent flashed a wide grin and began walking off in some unknown direction. "You're gonna love this," he called back.

Ciel shook his head and decided to chase after him against all semblance of rationality, his still aching legs carrying him along. He could forget about a few things for a little while, but the next time he got to a Pokémon Center, he was calling his mother and having a steaming bowl of ramen.

One thing he hadn't particularly noticed before was how flat Cherrygrove was. It was legally defined as a city, but it had to have been the smallest and most unassuming city he'd ever seen; very few buildings were taller than two stories, and even what he assumed to be corporate structures matched the area's homey, red-roofed style. Even on the smallest hill, if he stood on the tips of his toes, he could see the encompassing blue of the ocean. Crossing the city was pleasant, but his legs were starting to get to him. He couldn't wait for an extended period of sitting. Sitting and eating.

As the ground shifted from pavement to dirt and grass, Ciel realized that they were in a very backwater section of the city. Sturdy buildings made way for fragile-looking wooden barns. He would never have guessed that the transition from urban to rural would be so sudden. There were a lot more Pokémon than further in the city, and most of them were scurrying around in the open grass. A Sentret sentry far to his left was balanced high on its tail, hidden partially behind a shed, boring its eyes into him.

"We're genuinely out in the boonies," Ciel said, eyeing a group of Rattata passing in front of them.

"That's the plan. We're almost there."

"Can you tell me exactly what this 'plan' of yours is?" He felt his stomach grumble, become even more aware that he hadn't eaten since he downed the remaining crumbs of dried food the day before. "I really need to stop and eat something, man."

"Well, you see," Brent started, turning back to Ciel with a grin on his face. The sound of voices and people became apparent. "Never underestimate the people who make food for a living."

Ciel stopped as the sparse buildings opened further, the quiet rural side of Cherrygrove suddenly exploding into a bustling center. His eyes went wide. There were hundreds of people gathered around! Brightly colored wooden stalls selling fruits and vegetables, looking inviting but structurally unstable, were filled with lines. Ciel observed a group of muscular, overall-toting men tossing hay bales into a truck alongside a Machamp, the towering creature's extra limbs allowing it to double the work. The Pokémon waved at him when it noticed him looking their direction. He returned the gesture.

"This is really cool," Ciel admitted. He almost wished he had his sister here to wander around, just like they did at the monthly farmer's market back in Goldenrod.

He leaned over a crowd of people at a stall. A man was selling fine cuts of red meat, a wooden sign above him reading "fresh from the Tauros" scrawled in white paint. Seeing it made his mouth water uncontrollably, but he swallowed unsatisfyingly and continued after his new friend.

Brent led him over to another truck, a giant flatbed laden with bright pink Pecha berries. The load of heart-shaped produce was covered with a blue mesh net and tied to the bed of the vehicle. The cab's red paint streaked in the afternoon sun. "Food's not what we're here for, actually. Hey, Mr. Takuha!"

A man standing in front of the truck's popped hood peeked over the side. He was fidgeting with something with a wrench. "Ah, I didn't expect to see you back so soon, kid," the black-haired farmer said. He stepped back, closed the hood of the truck with a resounding boom, and held the wrench over his shoulder with an oil-darkened work glove. "Off to see Nana again?"

"Not this time, buddy. I'm off for good, though I might stop by when we get there." Brent reached into his pocket and brandished a Poké Ball at the man.

Mr. Takuha gave a knowing grin. "Figured it might happen someday. Climb in, I leave for Violet in ten."

As the man got into his truck, Brent turned to Ciel and jerked his thumb backwards, pointing confidently at the truck bed filled with color.

Ciel stuck his hands in his pockets. "Oh, hell yeah."

* * *

The massive vehicle lurched to the side as the wheels rolled over a rock in the road. The two in the back simultaneously grabbed bed's perimeter wall and held on for dear life. Ciel held his duffle to his lap to make sure he didn't lose it. Mr. Takuha called back and apologized for the bump, and Ciel and Brent settled down once again to the ambient noise of the truck's booming engine.

The Trainers sat on a large metal box at the rear of the truck, facing inward. Ciel reasoned that the box was present for this express purpose and that the farmer normally transported people as well as his produce and didn't want them sitting on the goods. For good measure, he always kept one hand on the side wall. It was nerve-wracking, to be honest, but it definitely beat walking.

"Hey, I just remembered that I had some chips. Do you want some?" Brent asked. He retrieved a plastic package from inside his messenger bag and held it out to Ciel.

"Goodness, yes," he said, and snatched the bag unceremoniously. He tore it open and dug in as he stared out at a passing pond beside the wide road. He let out a groan of satisfaction after downing the entire bag of fried goodness in under a minute.

"Sorry it took me so long to get you some food. You really didn't weather Route 29 well, did you?"

Ciel shook his head. "I didn't pack enough food, and I probably should have traveled with someone. I met a couple of Trainers in New Bark that seemed nice enough, but I decided to leave early. Bad idea."

"How old are you?" he asked.

"What?" The question somewhat caught him off guard.

"Sorry, I was just curious. You look pretty young for a Pokémon Trainer."

"Oh, yeah," Ciel said. "I'm seventeen. I turn eighteen next January."

"A young'un?" He asked, with a mocked accent of an old man. "Does that mean that your parents are…?"

"League employees, yeah. I got my Trainer Card issued after I turned sixteen. My mother turned in a recommendation to the Indigo commissioner in Goldenrod and I took a little exam. It was pretty easy, since I'd had Raven for about three years at that point."

"I guess that makes me your adult supervision. I'm nineteen."

"Huh." It was all Ciel really had to say. He stared back out onto the road, where it had begun to slope upwards as they reached the midland foothills he had just recently ridden down. The Cheri trees from the city were starting to disappear in favor of fewer, shorter greens that could stand the uneven ground. He missed the smell.

Unfortunately, they had struggled to find conversation for most of the ride so far, as it just wasn't that easy to find things to talk about with a near-complete stranger. All he knew about Brent so far was that he wanted to be a hero, though Ciel wondered what it meant to him above what he'd already shared.

The teenager supposed that it was an effective way to motivate oneself. Vague enough to be flexible and good-intentioned enough to make you think it's worth something. Not to say that Brent wasn't riding on anything—he wasn't going to pass any judgement on someone he just met, especially in the face of a good first impression. He just thought that there wasn't much to wanting to be hero, especially without any other specific aims. He decided to ask about it.

"So, hey… I've been wondering about something." His companion glanced up at him. "That hero stuff you said. You told me what it meant to you, but a better question is why you want to do it."

He smiled wide. "Oh, that's easy. It's for my mother."

"Your mom?"

"Yeah. She's my hero, always has been. I don't think she's gone a day in her life since I was born where she's thought about herself, especially since my father…" He trailed off, making it clear that he already said more than he wanted to. "Sorry, that's a bit personal. I'm not going to bother you with that. I just want to be like her and hopefully make some people happy."

Ciel almost wanted to urge him to keep talking but decided against pushing the matter. He was no stranger to having trouble with father figures, so even without an explanation, he at least understood. If the two were going to be spending time together, they'd have plenty of time to talk. Instead, his attention returned to the mound of berries, to which he frowned.

A Pidgey had landed atop the vaguely-pyramidal mount and began nipping the netting with its beak. The small bird also attempted to tear into the mesh with its claws to little success. It was growing visibly agitated. However, its struggle was interrupted when two violet-furred, small humanoids also dropped from the sky onto the mesh netting. Their purple tails extended into large, hand-like structures, and without any hesitation, they grabbed hold of the netting and ripped.

"Wait, stop!" he called out, both getting the attention of the Pokémon and alerting Brent to their presence after he'd been staring the opposite direction. They ignored him and worked faster to open the netting, as if realizing already that they might be stopped.

His friend stood up and pulled out a Poké Ball. "Finally, it's the reason why we're here," he said.

"What do you mean?" Despite his confusion, Ciel matched the action and held a capsule at the ready. As he gripped the ball, his previous troubles came to mind. He reasonably slipped Raven's Poké Ball back into his pocket and replaced it with his other active one.

"There's one caveat to us hitching a free ride that I regret to mention. We've got to protect the berries from any would-be snatchers. Let's take them down."

"Oh, goodie," Ciel replied.

Both Trainers held their Poké Balls in front of them and released their chosen Pokémon. From his capsule came Arden. The excited creature materialized on the berry pile and immediately ignited. From Brent's capsule released a Sentret, just like the ones he'd seen scurrying around in Cherrygrove earlier that day, who jumped into ready position onto its tail.

Ciel stood up and clung tightly to the truck bed. "Don't burn the berries, okay?" he ordered first. It felt more like a suggestion. "Use Tackle!"

"Sentret, Scratch!"

Ciel's Cyndaquil crawled awkwardly over the berry mount towards his target. Though he hadn't specified which wild to attack, Arden decided to throw itself at the one on the left. It let out a cry as the opponent deftly swung around and smacked the creature with its tail, sending Arden into the wall of the truck bed. Sentret, however, bounced on its tail to propel itself forward and scraped its claws across the Pokémon's back as it recovered from the swing.

Arden returned to Ciel at the back of the truck bed, awaiting orders. The Aipom that hadn't been attacked took up a defensive stance between the Trainers and the other thieves, who began fighting over a Pecha berry. Ciel assumed that the Pidgey wasn't part of their operation. He couldn't risk firing an Ember to ward them off, right? It would damage the berries, which was what they were trying to avoid.

The truck lurched again on its ascent and sent the all the Pokémon into disarray, including his own. As the Aipom lost balance and struggled to correct themselves, the Pidgey hovered into the air, following the truck, and Ciel took the opportunity.

"Arden, use Ember on the one in the sky!"

His Cyndaquil, though disoriented from the bump, squealed in delight and launched a flaming projectile from its snout. The fireball arced over the mound and struck the bird in the side, causing it to let out a pained whine.

"Fury Swipes!" Brent called.

His Sentret locked itself into a fierce melee with one of the tailed thieves. It frantically landed one swipe after another, alternatively being knocked around by the Aipom's own swinging appendage. After staggering backwards, the wild Pokémon jumped backwards, and Ciel watched out of the corner of his eye it began to spin. The tailed creature rotated its entire body around on the mount, building up momentum in its tail like a hammer throw.

"Stop it before it hits you, Quick Attack!" Brent ordered.

Sentret pushed itself to its fastest speed to lunge at the Aipom's with a claw extended. The brown body of his Pokémon deftly flew under the path of the swinging weapon and dove its claw into the Aipom's body. Losing balance from the strike, the opponent squeaked in surprise and fell over, injured and out of breath.

Ciel continued dealing with the Pidgey. He ordered Arden to use Tackle again, this time towards the downed bird and without being countered. It attempted to fly away, but singing its wing temporarily inhibited its ability to catch air. He watched it beat its wings, but the injured left was slower than the undamaged right, preventing it from taking flight. It took the Tackle in the side.

A thought ran through Ciel's mind. "Wait, where's the other Aipom?" he asked to the other Trainer.

"Use Tackle!" Brent called, before diverting his attention. "What do you mean?"

Almost on cue, the injured Aipom's partner stuck its head out of the mount of berries on the far side of the truck. It had one its mouth with a firm bite, and four others were gripped by the hand-like shape of its tail. Waving its arms caught the attention of its partner, who swiftly turned and scurried across the pile away from Sentret. The pair snickered and turned around, ready to jump away once a tree came close enough.

"We've got to stop them," Brent warned.

"On it," Ciel assured. "Arden, use Quick Attack to close the distance, then Ember. Don't hit the berries!"

Arden chimed in delight and shot off across the truck. Regardless of its diminutive size, he was strangely fast, amplified by powering itself to use Quick Attack. It closed the distance, and just as the Aipom prepared to jump, he unleashed a point-blank Ember directly into the back of the one carrying the berries. The jolt of pain caused its tail to drop the tail's payload, but Arden couldn't halt the jump and both bodies hurled themselves onto the branch of a nearby tree, which soon disappeared behind the advancing truck. Ciel turned around to see the two fading into the distance, one happily munching on the single Pecha berry it kept, and the other sticking out its tongue. He frowned.

Brent sat back down on the box, with his Pokémon curling up beside him. "That went well enough, right?"

Ciel nodded but remembered that the truck wasn't completely clear. The sole Pidgey remained, preening its injured wing and trying to free a claw that it had gotten stuck under the netting. Brent moved to stand up again and order Sentret to attack, but Ciel held out his arm.

"I've got a better idea," he said. From within his duffle, he brought out the case of Poké Balls he'd bought previously. With a snap, the case popped open. He took one and tapped the button, enlarging it to its ready state. Rather than risking losing a thrown capsule due to the movement of the truck, he simply held out the empty Poké Ball and tapped the button.

The beam struck the body of the wild Pokémon. The two watched as it was deconstructed and filtered through the red light, before it retracted into the Poké Ball completely. Ciel held the item in his hand as it shook. Once. Twice. Thrice. Click. Not another throw was needed.

The young Trainer held the capsule to the sky triumphantly. Though it wasn't the first Pokémon he had caught, his new Pidgey was the first he'd caught in battle. He was beaming, and Brent seemed to share in his excitement. "Alright!" he shouted into the forest.

The moment would have lasted longer had the truck not lurched over another bump in the road as soon has he had opened his mouth. Ciel bit his tongue.

"Ow!"

It was a long way to Violet City.

* * *

 **Phew. I personally think this chapter is the best of the four I've published so far, primarily because of the energy that a new character's introduction can bring. It was definitely a challenge to micromanage so many things for the battle scene, but I think it worked out quite well. I hope you enjoyed, and next time we can get back to Ethan being an idiot and Lyra being disappointed.**


	5. Flight of Passage

**This story is co-developed by Titan127.**

 **Disclaimer: Pokémon is a registered property of Nintendo, the Pokémon Company, and GameFreak. This work respectfully uses the world and characters of the Pokémon series, with no intent of harm on the original creators. Please support the official releases of the Pokémon franchise.**

 **Chapter 5: Flight of Passage (9,986 words)**

* * *

"Have you seen this man?" a mustachioed and trench-coat toting Ethan asking, pointing vigorously at the photo image of Silver on the Trainer Card.

The passerby he accosted on the street stepped warily backwards. The man's eyes landed on Lyra, who stood arms crossed behind her friend, for guidance. She shook her head. Though she wouldn't assume he was an upstanding from the beer-stained wifebeater, she still felt sorry that someone else had to put up with this. At least someone could empathize with her.

"No…?" he hesitantly responded. He looked irritated.

"What?" Ethan was taken aback, so he pointed an accusing finger. "I'll have you know that finding this person is critical to the administration of justice. Did you know that?"

"No…?" the man said once again. He was sweating from his brow. Lyra could swear she could hear his blood pressure rising.

"Give me all the information you have, old guy. We're short on time."

The man's chin-length frown and angled eyebrows were enough to make Ethan back off, and the two Trainers watched as he stormed off. Lyra was relieved that the man didn't drag that conversation on any longer than he needed to.

"Is there any reason why you have to make such a big deal out of it?" Lyra finally asked her friend. "And why do you even own a trench coat and fake moustache?"

Her friend slipped the coat from his shoulders and rolled it up under his arm. He left the moustache on. "Because it's fun. Don't I look like one of those cool International Police detectives?

"Really, all you're doing is intimidating people and making them less likely to answer. Just ask people normally and we might make some progress. With as much time as we're wasting, Silver's probably halfway to Ecruteak."

Ethan stared at her with a puzzled expression. "Why are we in a hurry? The professor already told the Indigo League and I'm sure police all over are keeping an eye out. We're just icing on the cake."

"I…" She paused. He made an excellent point. Something was gravely wrong if Ethan was making excellent points. "I don't know. It just makes me really angry to think about him running around doing whatever he wants. I'd like to give him a piece of my mind." She curled a fist at her side, digging her nails into her palm.

"No, I get it," Ethan reassured her. "We're gonna rescue Totodile for the professor and have that guy tossed in jail. Simple and easy, and it gives us something to do."

"Yeah," Lyra replied absently.

Their search around town continued at an admittedly dismal pace. Lyra was becoming somewhat annoyed by the whole endeavor, mostly because they hadn't really taken an opportunity to rest since they finished their hike across Route 29. They'd been walking for a few days straight, and then upon reaching the city, got right back to walking. It was boring her. She wanted to blame Ethan for taking "playing detective" to heart, but it was her idea in the first place.

"I recognize the blossoms on that cherry tree," Ethan claimed, though it was more likely that the surrounding landscape was familiar. "We've searched as much as we can around here, so we should find someplace else."

"Where do you plan to look?" she asked him after crossing her arms.

"Dunno. I'm new to this. Any suggestions?"

Lyra considered the situation for a moment. "Where would a juvenile delinquent, probably without any money, go after walking in the woods for days?"

Ethan's eyes widened as he connected the dots.

"Fast food!" the two friends exclaimed simultaneously.

Fortunately, there was a surprising lack of fast food in Cherrygrove, which helped narrow their search. Lyra pulled out her Poké GEAR and loaded up the map function to quickly search for any nearby locations. Only five locations would qualify as "fast food" within the city limits, which was both relieving as well as revealing of the city's diminutive presence. Was she the only one who thought that "Cherrygrove City" was inaccurate?

Pleasingly, it turned out that almost every tree in the city had a halogen light rigged near its base, so as the day began to fade, the nice pink color persisted visually throughout the city. She couldn't help but admire the cityscape, especially since the only other thing she could be focusing on was her friend parading around like an idiot.

Surprisingly, they hit a satisfying jackpot at their first stop, Shiro Burger. It was technically a sit-down restaurant, according to her Poké GEAR. At least Silver could afford a little bit of class. The two stepped inside to find it expectedly sparse, and her dumb idiot took the opportunity to put his coat back on. She went ahead without him to the counter.

"Welcome to Shiro Burger," said a bored employee, chin held in his hand. He leaned over a white counter with a black stripe running along the front. "May I take your order?"

She felt bad for him. He must not have had busy days. "Actually, I was wondering if you'd seen someone come through here. Bright red hair, wearing a dark jacket. I think he was wearing jeans when we last saw him, but he could have changed since then."

The employee tilted his head to the side. "Not sure I know who you mean."

Ethan, still fumbling with his coat, came up to her side and held up the Trainer Card. "This guy."

"Oh, that guy. Yeah, I saw him. He was in here yesterday at about noon and ordered a Double Bushido Burger with fries and a large soda. A pretty angry looking fellow, I would say."

Lyra raised an eyebrow. How did he remember that? "Well, we need to find out where he's going. To give his Trainer Card back," she added, just to make sure they weren't giving the wrong impression. "Do you know which way he might have went?"

"It's not my job to keep track of people, okay? Although, I do remember him muttering to himself very angrily while I was sweeping the floors. Something about his mom, or whatever. And I think he mentioned Pokémon training and spaceships. Kind of a weird guy."

"You don't get a lot of customers, do you?" Ethan half-asked, half-declared.

The man flashed an annoyed glance at the them and ignored the question. "Look, if you're in here, are you going to order something or not?"

The prevalent aroma of freshly fried food, while definitely not her first choice for mindful eating, swayed her immediately. She hadn't had real food in days, and at that point she really didn't need additional convincing. The diversion to a fast food restaurant gave them a triple-pattied cheeseburger with onions for Ethan and a chicken sandwich for her. Both had ridiculous names that avoided the Pokémon of origin.

The two rested for a time as they ate their junky meals, filled with a surprising lack of her friend's antics. She took a bite of her sandwich and found it delicious in a knowingly guilty way—deep down, she knew that they'd earned at least a little reward for trying to locate a criminal in addition to their expected travel. The fancy honey mustard was heavenly.

A television tucked in the corner of the ceiling caught her eye for a few moments, though it was muted and not all that substantial. The Pokémon League CEO, a graying man in an emerald suit, was giving a press conference, meeting, whatever. It was about some organized crime bust in Sinnoh, but she couldn't pay attention for long. Perhaps she was just worn out and her attention scattered. As she looked back across the table, Lyra noticed Ethan looking straight through her. Despite her meeting his eye, he didn't seem bothered and refused to look away.

"You're staring," she said.

"You know what we should do?" Ethan asked.

She hummed in response and took another bite out of her sandwich before downing it with the large glass of water she had ordered.

"We should battle." His grin was a mile wide. "We've both got Pokémon now, and that's, like, the quintessential interaction between two new adventurers. My Marigold versus your Marill." He paused for a moment. "Huh. They both start with 'mari'."

"He has a nickname, you know. It's Maron."

"That's still three letters."

She scoffed. "And he had it first, so he has the right to it."

Lyra watched in horror as her friend's lips curled slowly upwards. Oh no. This was entirely her fault. She'd gotten so absorbed in her meal and in the conversation that she hadn't restrained herself from accidentally giving him ideas. Ethan jumped up onto his seat and firmly planted one leg on the table like a conqueror claiming uncharted land.

"Please put your foot down, Ethan."

"I challenge you for the right to bear the name!" he shouted across the empty restaurant, catching the attention of the cashier. "Meet me at the dueling grounds at the turn of the next hour!" Ethan leaned in. "The dueling grounds are just the town square," he whispered.

"Is this really necessary?" she asked him.

"Come on," he said. "It'll be fun. It's like those marriage ceremonies where the bride and the groom battle over who gets to keep their last name. Isn't that exciting?"

"Are you implying we're getting married?" Lyra raised an eyebrow.

"Pssh, no. Of course not." She noted a bit of hesitation but sipped her water rather than feeding his banter further.

He hopped down from his seat and shoved the remainder of his burger whole into his mouth, downing it in one painful-looking swallow. "Alright, I'll see you there," he said, even though she hadn't expressly agreed to anything. Her friend sped out the door. The bell chime echoed far longer than it should have.

She grabbed a wad of bills that were curled up under Ethan's plate and headed to the counter to pay for the food. So, he wasn't completely daft. After a round of profuse apologies to the cashier for his friend's rude behavior, she paid for both of their meals.

"So, are you two friends or not?" He asked.

"Regrettably." She fumbled with the jumbled bills, which were both ripped and folded along strange lines. She assumed there was ₽2,000 in the pile, but it was difficult to tell.

"He doesn't annoy you, or anything?"

"Oh, no, he annoys me. But, I might be the only person on the planet qualified to deal with him." Despite her words, she let out a soft chuckle. "Is this enough for both?"

"Yeah. Have a nice day."

"You too."

As she stepped outside, she stopped to process. She wanted to find the thief, primarily for the sake of the stolen Pokémon and the neurotic mess who was responsible for it, but also because she felt some need to talk to him after what she saw in the forest. Something about his malice resonated with her—she wasn't justifying his behavior, of course, but she knew there had to be more to it. Much of her time was spent looking past meaningless actions and words at the person behind them, so she felt she knew a thing or two.

However, despite she and Ethan committing to tracking Silver down, she had to stop and remind herself that it wasn't the reason they were traveling to begin with. They were Pokémon Trainers, and if she didn't start focusing on battling and training, then why did they even leave to begin with? She brought up her hands, holding Maron's Poké Ball in one and an empty capsule in the other.

It was time for her and Maron to get some practice in. But, she already had a plan to have a little fun.

* * *

"Use Bubble!" she ordered.

Maron fired a concentrated stream of bubbles from his small mouth towards his opponent. Individually, each bubble was inconsequential and amounted to just a sharp snap, but when combined, the tiny pains added up. Two of them stuck to Marigold's body as she tried to evade before popping with loud cracks.

As Marigold recovered, Ethan issued his counterattack. "Use Razor Leaf!"

Though dazed, the Chikorita's leaf began glowing with a brilliant green light. She whipped her head around and swung the leaf with her body's momentum, and the energy launched in his direction in the shape of a swirling crescent. That was only the first shot. The Pokémon, enjoying herself immensely by the elated expression, repeatedly whipped her entire head back and forth to launch a volley of the projectiles their direction.

Maron positioned himself to dodge, but his round body didn't lend itself well, and he took one projectile directly in his white belly. The green energy exploded into the air on contact, causing him to let out a high-pitched groan. Most of the other projectiles missed wildly, with one flying right past her, blowing the hat off her head and almost clipping her hair. She grumbled and swiped the round article back up from the pavement.

"Watch where you're shooting those things," she scolded at Ethan, before turning her attention to her Pokémon. "Are you alright, Maron?" Her partner turned and affirmed with a squeak, though the direct hit clearly knocked a bit out of him. His Water-type meant that the hit probably exhausted him more than another attack might due to the natural disadvantage. She'd have to be more aggressive, since it would be more beneficial to control her opponent's actions rather than Maron only being able to dodge and hope.

"Sorry about that, Lyra," her opponent said, clearly not as sorry as he could have been. "We were trying to practice our aim while we were waiting. Speaking of, where were you? It's been like an hour."

"I had to, uhh…" she hadn't thought of an excuse. "I went to the Pokémon Center to make sure that Maron was in top condition for the battle."

He looked puzzled. "That couldn't have taken more than twenty minutes."

"Then, I took a stroll around the city. It was pretty nice this evening."

As they spoke, their Pokémon stared each other down across the square. Though, it was less a stare-down and more a friendly regard. Marigold looked excited just to be involved and was bubbly bouncing on her legs and chirping in delight. Her own Pokémon looked equally excited, but his body language implied he was more thrilled by the fight than the company. Maron's tail swing back and forth, exaggerated by the momentum of the large ball on its tip, indicating he was alert and ready to jump onto the offensive.

Their makeshift arena in the town square, while nothing spectacular, provided a simple space that lent itself to the battle. The central area, laden with faded bricks, compared in size to a regular League-standard ring. A perimeter of cherry blossom trees enclosed the square, with an opening to exit on each side, creating a feeling of intimate closeness that implicitly limited them to their immediate surroundings.

She realized, this being her first true battle outside of the wilds they'd fought while traveling Route 29, that this was what a battle was supposed to be. An isolated space, almost disconnected from the normal world, where both competitors were absorbed into the fight. Within the arena, nothing else really mattered. At least, that's what she was told it was like, but she couldn't help feeling that part of that exaggeration was true.

The spotlights beneath the trees shined upwards around them, casting shadows across her and Ethan's faces. It was quite dramatic for what boiled down to a catfight between children.

"Are you sure you don't want any restrictions for the battle?" she asked her travel companion.

Ethan fidgeted a bit, not sure what to say. "I mean, it's last one standing, right? One of us wins when their Pokémon is the last one on the battlefield. That's how it works."

"I know, but I'm just making sure," she said. One hand was in her pocket. She extended the other to command. "Maron, get up close. You have the advantage in close-quarters combat."

With the short intermission over, her blue rodent bounded back into action. He hopped across the bricks in a zig-zag pattern, which Marigold struggled to follow. Her leaf powered up again in reaction.

"Slow him down, girl!" Ethan shouted. His partner wildly fired off another volley of leaves to no avail, as Maron weaved through the deviating ranged attacks. One, however, flew directly into her partner's path as he landed on a brick.

Think fast, she thought. "Bounce with your tail, dodge, and get close!" she commanded.

The structure of a Marill's tail allowed it to be retracted and expanded like a spring, which could be used both as an offensive weapon and a mobility tool. The latter case proved to be useful, and with a surprising deftness given her Pokémon's awkward size and speed, he planted his tail into the brick, retracted, and released the tension to jump. He bounced high over the oncoming projectile and landed directly in front of her opponent, catching her by surprise.

The stage was all hers. "Use Tackle!"

Maron powered into his opponent with his entire body, scoring a direct hit of his own. It was clear that the force of his Tackle was far greater than his Bubble attack and the impact sent Marigold into the trees behind her Trainer. The Chikorita caught herself on a branch and hung by her forelimbs.

Ethan broke from the battle and ignored Lyra and her partner. Her Marill waddled back towards her and the two stood confused as they watched his display. He ran towards the trees, standing with open arms under his Pokémon. "Here, I'll catch you. You can drop down!"

"Hey, Ethan, I'm not sure that kind of interference is legal in an actual match," she said.

Marigold dropped from the branch into his waiting arms. He bounced the Chikorita around much like a parent would their young infant, having seemingly forgotten about the battle in its entirety.

It surprised her how quickly Pokémon and Trainer had grown fond of each other. They'd known each other for less than a week but were already best of friends. It helped that both of them were jolly airheads—similarities were one of the primary causes of friendships, after all. The two enjoyed their impromptu playtime for nearly a minute before her traveling companion realized that they were still in the middle of something. He looked like a Stantler in headlights as he locked eyes with her.

"You done?" she asked.

"Uhh…" he slowly placed Marigold back on the ground, who ran back into position across from Maron. "Yes. Probably." He scratched the back of his head and gave a nervous chuckle.

"You're an idiot," she said.

"Yeah, I think I get that a lot," he stated as he himself returned to a ready state on their makeshift battlefield.

Both Pokémon were running out of steam. Maron looked worse for the wear, still feeling the impact of the direct Razor Leaf hit, and while Marigold tried to remain energetic, her panting was clearly visible. Neither would last in the battle much longer, but both looked ready to carry on.

In the short time the battle had taken, night had fallen over the city of Cherrygrove. The contrast between the spotlights and the blackness only intensified. It was nearly getting to her and disoriented her visual sense. She was tired, but as much as she wanted to lie down and pass out, their battle wasn't over, and she wouldn't pass up an opportunity to finish a game she was guaranteed to win. It was time to decide the victor.

"Let's go, Maron! Charge and use Pound!" She ordered.

"Meet the charge, Marigold! Focus your energy in your leaf!" Ethan countered.

The duelists broke into full-on sprints across the square, neither attempting to dodge nor throw off their opponent's charge. Valiant, jousting knights, just as Ethan had alluded to, met head-on in the center of the square. One would stand, one would fall.

As the two collided, her Marill rotated his body and carried his forward momentum into the weight of the ball on its tail. The swinging weapon arced around in the direct path of the Chikorita's head. Simultaneously, rather than firing a Razor Leaf, Marigold maintained her green, grassy energy in her own leaf as an improvised move and swung it towards Maron's body. Both attacks connected in unison.

The photo finish saw both Pokémon frozen as they absorbed their blows. Lyra held in her breath, waiting for the outcome.

However, the one that came was unexpected. Two Pokémon fell defeated onto the brick floor of the square. Ethan and Lyra rushed towards the center to tend to their valiant fighters.

"Are you okay?" they both asked with concern while propping up their Pokémon.

Maron had collapsed, obviously completely drained of energy after taking multiple super-effective attacks in succession. She pulled him into a tight hug. "Thanks so much, Maron. You were great out there, and I'm going to get you to a Pokémon Center to rest for the night," she said to her partner, who silently nuzzled into her stomach in response. "You're getting so strong already, and I'm so proud."

Ethan was similarly showering his own Pokémon with praise. Pokémon battling really was a bonding experience, and she felt a closer connection to her partner as a result. Despite a Trainer being effectively a coach to an independent athlete, both Trainer and Pokémon worked in sync to accomplish their goal. But, the Pokémon were still the primary actors, so they deserved all of the love and praise humans could give them.

Ethan looked up from Marigold. She had fallen asleep from her own exhaustion in his arms. "I guess nobody wins the name right, huh? I never thought that it would end in a tie, but at least it's a new experience for both of us."

"Oh, please," she said, deviously. From in her pocket, she fished out the second Poké Ball she was carrying and clicked the capsule open. Red light condensed into the golden, dollop-shaped form of a Sunkern. "Ethan, meet Ray. He's the last one on the battlefield."

Her friend sat dumbfounded, staring into the glossy, bead-like eyes of the Sunkern. The round plant creature looked vaguely confused, vaguely curious, vaguely excited. A groan indicated how quickly Ethan gave up. "I agreed to no party restrictions, didn't I?"

"Yes. This is what you get for dragging me into this."

"Geez, I'm an idiot," he declared.

"Glad to know we're still on the same page." Lyra laughed hysterically.

* * *

Ciel's finger hovered over the keyboard. It was shaking, and the jitter carried through his entire body. Sweat was forming on his brow, his vision was going blank, his heart raced, his blood pressure skyrocketed.

Brent stood over his shoulder with a sympathetic expression. "Are you sure you want to go through with this? You can still back out and save yourself. It's too dangerous," he offered, begging his friend not to put himself on the line.

"I have to. If I don't do it now, it'll come for me eventually. There's no escape," he lamented, "and it's all my fault. I made the choice to go down this path and to let my sins catch up to me. I have to face the music."

"You poor soul. May you rest in peace," Brent said quietly, before looking away. He couldn't bear to see the horror that was about to unfold.

Ciel pushed his index finger downward. It felt like it fell for eternity, until the "call" key clicked.

No ringtone. No lag time. The call monitor exploded in volume as the booming, hallowing voice released the only utterance scarier than imminent death.

 _"CIEL! VERGLAS! FAUDER!"_

He was nearly blown backwards off his feet and cowered in fear at his full name. His friend had also felt the full impact of the shout and was shaking by the seat of his pants. Taking a quick glance around, the entire body of passersby in the Pokémon Center had turned to stare at them and the public monitor the call was broadcasting with. The front counter nurse gave the two of them a dirty look. It only made him feel further embarrassed.

Mothers always used a specific look. That look. Plastered on her face was an expression halfway between homicidal and deeply concerned, interlaced with mixes of embarrassment, dictatorial rage, and some tiny shred of buried love. He hoped there was more of the latter than she let on, because the judgement her sharp eyes were casting felt like an afterlife spirit threatening to reincarnate him into a mushroom for his misgivings. Or sentence him to the fiery pit for all eternity. Or just make him float forever in the endless void. It was over.

 _"You haven't called me in five. Whole. Days. I was getting ready to contract the International Police to sweep the entire Johto Region to find your sorry behind! Where in the world were you, young man? You should have gotten to Cherrygrove no later than yesterday, but there was no call. I canceled my first official day of work to sit at home and wait for you to connect to my damn cell, and nothing ever came through. Do you know what that feels like? You could have gotten eaten alive by a horde of Hoothoot or collapsed due to exposure to the elements and it nearly gave me a heart attack. Forty-three-year-olds are not supposed be at risk for heart attacks!"_

As much as he wanted to, he didn't have the heart to tell her that he _did_ almost get eaten alive by a horde of Hoothoot. She didn't have the heart either, apparently.

 _"Well? Answer me, young man? Where were you?"_

Brent slowly leaned in from the side and slid into visibility of the camera, as shown in the playback. "Uh, hi..."

His mother's demeanor changed entirely. The woman coughed and quickly adjusted the collar of her robe, trying to show some amount of composure in front of a stranger. _"Hello. Who is this, Ciel?"_

"H-his name's Brent," Ciel managed shakily. "I met him in Cherrygrove. We, uh—" he stammered.

"We hitched a ride on a truck directly from Cherrygrove to Violet," the other Trainer said, completing his own thought. "I kind of dragged him along with me after we talked for a while."

"I thought it was better than walking?" Ciel offered.

His mother paused. He watched her full process of decompression, starting with pinching the bridge of her nose and then puffing her cheeks to let out an audible—and disappointed—sigh. She ran a hand through her hair.

 _"You are a handful, Ciel,"_ she stated, simply. _"I need to get you a Poké GEAR, or something else that can receive calls."_

"Thanks, mom. I'm sorry I didn't contact you sooner," he said. It was genuine. He did feel awful about scaring her, and he'd intentionally blown off calling her when they got to Cherrygrove.

 _"It's alright, honey. I'd just like you to be a bit more mindful next time. And, hey, you've already made a friend! I'm so proud,"_ she waved at Brent, who reciprocated awkwardly. _"However, I wouldn't recommend you take the easy route so often. If you want to become a better Trainer, you're not going to find any better experience than testing yourself against wild Pokémon. They're much less predictable than the average trained one and much more plentiful, especially on most League routes."_

"We did fight some wilds that were bothering us on the truck ride, and I managed to catch one. A Pidgey. I still need a name for him."

 _"A name?"_ His mother placed her hand on her chin, thinking for a moment. _"Ace? Jet? Sky?"_

Brent chimed in. "Those seem a bit heavy-handed on the whole 'bird' thing. Bird Pokémon are graceful and calm, usually, so try something like that."

The three of them used the nickname as a talking point for a while, throwing ideas back and forth about what to name the new member of Ciel's party. He wouldn't have expected the odd situation to foster conversation so well, but his mother and new friend got along well enough, and it felt reassuring to him just to know he could still talk to his mother on occasion. Eventually, they settled on the name "Clovis," which his mother informed him was the first name of one of her primary school teachers. It did sound like an old person's name, but he liked the majestic ring to it.

Between the deliberation, they digressed to other topics, such as he and his family's recent move. She seemed to be intentionally avoiding mentioning her role as a Gym Leader for whatever reason, so he quietly obliged not to mention. Brent shared a bit more about himself as well. Apparently, he was currently in college, but was taking a break with a year-long program to train.

His mother yawned, and soon the contagion caused both he and Brent to do the same. It was getting late. "I need to get to sleep. I'm going to try to challenge the Gym tomorrow, I think," he announced.

 _"Are you nervous?"_ his mother asked.

"A little bit. I don't know how it's going to go, but I'm also excited."

 _"This is a big step,"_ she said. _"Don't take it lightly, but make sure to have some fun."_

"I will mom. Love you."

He heard a noise—a door opening—through the screen, something that caught his mother's attention. She looked away from the screen and said something, before returning her attention to the call. _"Your father just came home. Would you like to talk to him as well before you go?"_

He knew what this was. She did this all the time, and she knew what terms the two were on. What a joke. As if that would solve any problems.

"No, I'm—" He hesitated, almost wanting to get angry. "I'm fine. I'll be going now."

The woman almost looked disappointed but offered a small smile. "That's okay. Just… consider talking to him at some point, okay? I love you, Ciel," she said, before the screen went dark.

He turned to his friend, who had an expression of understanding about him. Just as Ciel hadn't pressed him about it, he considerately abstained himself and switched topics immediately. He shoved his hands into his pockets, leaned back to stretch, and let rip another huge yawn. The man was probably just as tired as he was. "What's the plan for tomorrow? Are you sure you want to go for the Gym so soon?" he asked.

Ciel nodded, somewhat surprised at his own confidence. "Yeah. At worst, if I lose, I know what I'm in for and can train to match. I think it's the average that most people lose one two or two of each Gym battle before they obtain the badge."

"Want me to go with? I'm going to have to get around to fighting the Gym Leader myself," the man suggested.

"No, I'm going to go early in the morning. You should sleep in. Besides, I think I want to do it alone first. It'll give me some time to do some thinking."

The truth is, since Raven had acted up during their travel, he hadn't even taken her out of her Poké Ball for a while. He had ignored facing the problem head-on and working it out what the expectations were between the two partners, so he needed some time alone to sit down and talk with her. As much as he had enjoyed Brent's company the previous day, it was his job as a Trainer to guide his Pokémon, and he'd been too focused on the thrill of his newfound freedom to do that.

There was some hard work he was already starting to ignore, and he planned to set himself back on track, especially with such a long road ahead of him. His first Gym battle. His first major test. His first step. It was his, and his alone. Well, his and his Pokémon. We're a team, he reminded himself. It's time to make it so.

He pulled himself out of his thoughts to notice Brent already walking away. "Wait, where are you going?" Ciel asked confusedly.

"You started to space, so I decided to let you figure that out. I'll see you tomorrow, Ciel!" he shouted behind him with a chuckle. He waved and disappeared down the hall of the Pokémon Center towards the residential section. This left him alone in the large lobby to introspect some more.

Ciel smiled to himself. Despite a rough few days, he'd found himself a reliable friend and was ready to go all-out. Just like the day he'd left Mahogany the week prior, it was a kind of new beginning for him. He'd be ready early in the morning to test his mettle and give him a starting point to grow.

He held up his bag, from which a foul odor was beginning to permeate. But first, he thought, I _really_ need to do my laundry.

* * *

Armed with a fresh set of clothes, a wad of cash in his pocket, and with a fist curled at his side, Ciel craned his head skyward. It followed the form of the massive structure before him until he was staring into the dawn sky. Rather than being a standardized building like a few Gyms he'd seen prior, the Violet City Gym was a towering behemoth that blocked out the rising sun. He stood in the shadow of the building, which had a tiered pagoda structure and purple roof siding.

Unfortunately, that morning had paralleled the day he left to travel a little too much. He found himself unable to sleep well and had woken up at five in the morning, deciding on a whim to go out rather than lie in bed for a few more pointless hours. Fortunately, if the word of the Pokémon Center nurse was anything to go by, the Gym also opened at the crack of dawn. Lucky him.

He released Raven from her Poké Ball, and the Absol materialized sprawled onto the ground, a holdover from the surprised prone position she had last been recalled in. The sudden shift in time and place left her disoriented, but the first thing she did upon readjusting was growl at him. Angrily.

"Yeah, nice to see you too. I still can't get the smell of repellant out of my hair," Ciel said while rolling his eyes. However, he realized that being unpleasant to his partner wouldn't serve them working together. "Look, we're about to do our first Gym Battle, and you're gonna need to work with me."

He sat down on the ground with his legs crossed. The white-coated Pokémon growled again, but this time more softly. He could reasonably interpret it as a begrudging admission, but he didn't claim to be an expert at Pokémon communication.

"We've been having a few problems recently, right? It feels like you aren't listening to me sometimes. I know that you may not be used to this structured battle thing since we didn't battle often before, but things are different now than they used to be, and this next battle is really going to test the way we work together."

Ciel sighed, not really sure what else to say and not even sure if his Pokémon was hearing him speak. She was currently cleaning her paw and not making eye contact. "I know you. Just like when we first met, you want to get stronger and prove that you're the best. You stood up to that big, scary Arbok that was about to take a bite out of me and you showed him who was boss. I thought you were the coolest, strongest Pokémon around. Remember that?"

That got her attention. Raven was now staring intently at him, and he took that as his opportunity. "I want to get better too. We have a lot in common. So, just…" he struggled to find the words, "let's just commit to working as a team."

After a moment of stillness in which it appeared she was considering his words, she put her broad legs forward and stretched hard in a similar motion to other feline Pokémon. He put his head in his hand and huffed. "You know, sometimes it's really hard to get a read on you," Ciel muttered. Tentatively, he reached forward and scratched the side of her head above the sickle, causing Raven to begin purring at the physical affection.

The moment didn't last too long as he was pretty eager to get going. The young Trainer stood tall, pumped his fist in front of him and grinned ear to ear. "It's time to battle. Are you with me?"

Unceremoniously, his partner picked herself up off the pavement and wandered towards the sliding door, which opened automatically with her presence. She stepped inside, and he quickly gathered himself to follow.

As he stepped through the entrance to the Violet Gym, he found himself astounded by the open space inside. He and Raven stood on a wooden platform that constituted what appeared to be the only solid architecture inside the building. A few feet away from where they were standing, the platform gave way into blackness, a pit that led even further beneath ground to a basement level. In front of him, a mechanical platform on a track lead upwards towards a series of upper walkways. Connected to the vertical walls of the tower were wooden support beams that crisscrossed every which way, connecting to and from the various walkable structures for support. The largest of which, a gargantuan square object suspended above him, he assumed to be the battlefield.

With no one to welcome him, he turned to Raven, who was already making her way to the elevator platform. He shrugged to himself and followed suit, standing unsteadily onto the mechanism. Without prompting, it began its slow ascent upwards.

Trainer and Pokémon rose through the tower. Ciel found himself staring at his feet, finding himself much more nervous than he thought. After all, challenging the Gyms was the entire reason for the adventure across the region. It was like an impending school test—this battle would be the first metric of everything he had learned so far, however little or much that may be, and it was daunting. Hopefully he and Raven would fare better against Falkner than they had against Pryce.

When the elevator clunkily stopped at the mechanisms apex, he was surprised to find that the mess of support beams and crossing structures was much more straightforward from this angle. From their position, the Gym was laid out as a collection of wooden pathways towards the battlefield.

And all of them, he realized, had nothing to stop someone from falling straight off. Maybe it was a bit too late to recollect on the fact that he didn't do heights well.

He swallowed the lump in his throat and stepped precariously onto the path directly before him. Looking down, he could see only the blackness of the pit below him, causing his vision to blur, but as much as he wanted to look away, he needed to keep his eyes down to put one foot in front of the other. Slowly but surely, he guided himself along the planks leading to the center stage.

Raven, being the show-off she was, followed behind him and outdid him completely. Using her own nimbleness, she easily caught each platform and hopped between gaps that he wouldn't dare try to cross. The best he could do was focus on himself and continue walking, but he tried to pick up the pace, feeling slightly more comfortable with his stability. It was like a tightrope, but with a little more solid footing.

His foot slipped. A scream escaped his lips as his balance faltered and he tumbled over the side. At the last minute, he threw his arms out and caught the top of the plank he was standing on under his armpits. His breathing was erratic as his legs dangled below him into the blackness.

"There's a net. You don't have to freak," a voice called out across the Gym, but he was too focused on other things to find out who it belonged to.

Ciel gradually pulled himself up from the plank and crouched uneasily, keeping both of his arms connected for contact points. He looked up to find that he was surprisingly close to the central platform and that someone was standing in wait, so he once again swallowed his hesitation and booked it—carefully—the rest of the way, jumping with a short hop onto the central platform of the gym. The elliptical shape carved into it told him everything he needed to know. The battlefield. Since it was suspended by strong cables from the tower walls as well as support beams, he knew the platform was solid enough, but it still left him tense.

He stared forwards and his eyes locked with the man whose voice he heard before. He wore long blue hair that fell messily over his eyes and a similarly blue outfit of a gi and a loose robe. His eyes, however, were even more striking. They felt judgmental and predatory, much like a large bird. Fitting. Ciel knew he specialized in avian Pokémon.

"You're here early," he said. "I haven't even gotten a chance to get settled."

Ciel was panting from the mental unpreparedness of the fall but he slowly gathered himself enough to speak. "Is the death trap really necessary?"

The man crossed his arms, clearly displeased. "Of course. It's great at dissuading random nobodies from waltzing inside and wasting my time. Normally, I'd have my aides here to help with that, but you're early enough to have missed them. Congratulations."

What kind of tone was that? Ciel thought Gym Leaders were supposed to be kind mentor characters to help Trainers improve. And here he was saying straight out that he _doesn't_ want people to challenge him?

"Anyway, proper introductions are in order. My name is Falkner, just as my father was named Falkner and my grandfather before him was named Falkner. This is my family's Gym, and to challenge me is to challenge the knowledge of magnificent bird Pokémon passed through the Falkner family for generations."

"Yeah," he said, dryly and still catching his breath, "I'll keep that in mind."

The Gym Leader pointed to Raven, who had landed on the battle platform far before him and had already lied down for a nap. "I assume that one's yours. I've never fought one before."

"I'm led to believe they aren't very common," he said. If the Gym Leader had never battled her species before, it meant he had the element of surprise, right? He thought for a second that he'd have a chance of winning his first Gym Battle before he snuffed that immediately. No need to get overconfident.

"How many Pokémon do you plan to battle with?" the man asked.

Three. Wait, maybe not. He hadn't even gotten an opportunity to release Clovis from his Poké Ball since he'd been caught the day before. He was led to believe that it took some time for Wild Pokémon to get acquainted with new Trainers and probably wouldn't listen to or even understand his commands until they'd settled and trained. "Two," he eventually said. He'd stick with Raven and Arden for this battle.

"Very well. I shall use two as well. Do we begin, then?" The Gym Leader asked. It proved to be rhetorical as the man had already withdrawn an oddly-colored, orange capsule from his robe. Without hesitation, he threw the ball at the ground, and as the button hit the floor of the arena the device popped open with a buzzing sound that echoed through the spacious tower.

A high-pitched screech punctuated the appearance of a large bird of prey. It flared its wings wide and bared claws on the surface of the floating battlefield. It was simultaneously majestic and terrifying, with a large tail and a red crown flaring behind its head. He marveled at the Pidgeotto, the evolved form of his own Flying-type.

Raven took it upon herself to jump in front of him and prepare for battle, evidently more excited than he was to get this going. Ciel recognized what she saw in front of her: a worthy challenge.

Falkner held up a hand in a "pause" gesture. He was about to order an attack to start the battle but stopped in confusion. "Hold a moment," he said curtly.

The two didn't have to wait long, as movement behind him brought his attention to a slightly overweight man who had also crossed the mazework of wooden pathways. He and the Gym Leader exchanged glances and he fell into a position to the right of his side of the ring while retrieving some multicolored flags from his pockets to hold at his side. Ciel could only assume he was the referee. Most official matches had referees present to prevent any unnecessary harm to Pokémon and to call out participants on misconduct. The man's presence helped heighten the idea that this was an important, life-changing battle. Ciel looked towards Falkner for approval, and the man nodded.

The referee held a green flag high into the air. "Battle… begin!" he shouted as he chopped the flag downwards.

Raven fell into battle position, angling her sickle to face her opponent and holding low to the ground. She hardly had time to react, however, before their opponent called the first move.

"Tenku, Aerial Ace! Aim high."

The bird launched itself from the ground directly into the air above. Upon reaching the apex of its flight, it flared its wings violently outward, before tucking suddenly and diving in an instant.

So fast! Ciel wasn't sure either of them could keep up with its movements once it got into the air. "Slash!" he ordered. He left it up to her to decide the application.

The Pidgeotto rocketed past Raven and she bared her weapon in defense. The Flying-type unexpectedly pulled its trajectory upwards and soared past both Trainer and Pokémon, throwing off Raven's attempted swipe with her sickle. She spun on her heels to follow the mobile enemy that was now hovering away from the floating platform.

"Gust!" Falkner shouted from across the ring. His Pokémon beat its powerful wings forward to release a concentrated wind in their direction.

Ciel, realizing he was now in the path of battle, dove away from the attack's path towards the edge of the ring, his Pokémon doing the same in the opposite direction. Raven kept her sickle aimed at the opponent, trying not to lose the figure of Falkner's Pidgeotto despite its quick movement.

He turned to the Gym Leader, who had a confident smirk plastered on his face. The man extended a hand to command. "Use Gust, again! Keep the air moving!"

The repeated Flying-type attacks sent winds across the arena from multiple directions, continually assaulting Raven. Her fur was sent every which way, puffing outward as she nimbly weaved in and out of the waves of air. She tried to keep her eyes on the Pidgeotto, but Ciel noticed that her tracking was faltering, even though the telegraphed Gusts themselves weren't difficult to avoid. Falkner wasn't just going to do this forever, was he? As long as her opponent was in the air, Raven was relatively helpless.

"Close in, Tenku. Use your talons!"

Following the path of one of the Gusts, the Pidgeotto swooped down and began its onslaught. Less Trainer-guided now, it swiped at Raven with its claws, landing on the ground at regular intervals and brawling it out. Raven was still having difficult following her opponent, despite it now being right in front of her. She took numerous small scratches and cuts all around her body, seemingly unable to properly defend herself. However, the next swipe was more telegraphed than the others as Falkner's Pidgeotto reeled back with intent.

This was their chance! "Use Bite, Raven!" he ordered, leaving it to her own intuition to catch the erratic movement.

Though disoriented, his Pokémon jumped at the right opportunity. As it lunged for one more attack, she clamped her jaw down hard on the wind of the Pidgeotto. It worked! Surprised, the bird began flailing in panic, and she rotated and tossed its body away to give herself space.

"Raven, you okay?" he called out in an attempt to figure out what was wrong. She snuck a glance back at him. "I don't know what happened, but you don't look like you're following well. Are you hurt?" The concern was clear in his voice, and he was considering withdrawing her from battle.

"She isn't hurt severely. I'm just dulling her senses and preventing her from reading our actions," the Gym Leader announced.

"How is that possible if you've never fought an Absol before? How do you know how?" Ciel asked, incredulously.

"Lesson one!" he shouted across the arena. "The key to being a Pokémon Trainer is to be perceptive, to notice patterns, to be able to understand even an unfamiliar situation and adapt. Your Pokémon constantly angled her body to keep that horn of hers focused on us, and her head shape is asymmetrical. Simply put, that horn is also an ear."

Ciel stared down at his own Pokémon, now noticing the meaning behind her battle stance. Logically, a Pokémon would try to keep as much sensory information as possible and not be blind sighted throughout a battle. How had he not noticed that before?

"If she only has one ear, and even if it's powerful, it means that her hearing isn't as dynamic as other Pokémon that rely on it. With constant winds firing at her, her hearing is dampened as sound waves are disrupted. Feline Pokémon that also use smell are already at a disadvantage in an open arena like this where the air is flowing, and I've continually flushed any odors that might sharpen her spatial senses." As he finished his explanation, the man crossed his arms. "In other words, try to catch us. Tenku, take flight!"

They couldn't lose it again! "Quick Attack!" he shouted.

Raven shot forward at incredible speeds upon hearing the command and struck the bird with a rake of her claw just as it managed to get airborne again. He was surprised by the speed difference, and he noted that Raven could outspeed the bird on the ground. However, despite the hit, the Pidgeotto hovered far in the air above Falkner again and left them back where they started, except that Raven had already taken some repeated damage.

"Tenku, Aerial Ace! Low!"

If high meant an intentional miss, he knew what low meant. "Dodge!"

Unfortunately, just as Raven was slightly faster from a standing position, the Pidgeotto outsped her from the air. The attack landed directly in his Absol's side as she tried to dodge, sending her tumbling across the floor of the arena. She lied motionless—it was clear that she wasn't going to be able to continue the fight. The referee held out a yellow flag and announced loudly, "the challenger's Pokémon is unable to battle. Please send out another."

He nodded and made the quick switch. "Return, Raven," he said. She seemed to defy the ruling for a moment and tried to get up again, but he walked to her side and assured her just to rest. With a smile and another pat on the head, he congratulated her for her good work. He recalled her to the capsule, noting that they'd sit around to rest for the remainder of the day after stopping by the Pokémon Center. Afterwards, he held out Arden's Poké Ball and released his excitable Cyndaquil.

Arden ignited upon release and squealed, as per usual and stared down the opponent Pidgeotto. The flames across its back raged and curled against the circulating air of the tower. By that point, the morning sun had risen high, and he only just realized that the tower was lined with rows of thin windows that began flooding the interior with rays of sunlight. A bright line shined across the platform.

It wouldn't be likely that they'd win this battle. Raven was his partner and his most powerful Pokémon, so if she couldn't meet the challenge, he wasn't sure Arden had any chance. But, he reasoned that any amount of practice would help them improve, especially since he _had_ performed better here than against Pryce's Piloswine. Curling a fist at his side, he waited as the referee once again swung down the green flag, and the battle resumed.

"Use Ember!" he ordered. His Cyndaquil proficiency with ranged attacks would be more useful against a flying foe. He planned to take full advantage of that.

Arden angled his snout and released multiple arcing puffs of fire. Most were skillfully dodged by the opponent without prompting, but a few of the scattered projectiles singed the Flying-type's side, due in part to his Cyndaquil's erratic nature. His excitability and twitchiness made his aiming unreliable, but also unpredictable.

"Tailwind!" Falkner commanded.

His Pokémon maneuvered backwards and hovered over the platform on their side of the arena. By extending its wings to their full span and powering beating its wing muscles, it began changing the air currents in the room. Unlike the Gusts, which were concentrated bursts of air, the Pidgeotto was angling the wind around the battlefield almost entirely in their direction. The effect was immediate. Under the pressure of the wind, Arden's back flames began to flicker, unable to catch as well as before. The Fire-type tried to power his flame sacs, but each ignition under the wind pressure dissipated into the air behind him. Ciel knew that without his flames firing, Arden wouldn't be able to use his Fire-type attacks as effectively.

What other options did he have? Had he been shut down again? Ciel knew much less about Arden's moveset than Raven's due to how long much time he'd spent with the latter, leaving him struggling to know what exactly the small mammalian Pokémon was capable of. "Try Ember again!" he called, not sure what else to do.

Arden attempted to launch more flames, only for half of them to fizzle out before leaving his snout and the remainder struggling to remain lit amongst the powerful wind.

Falkner had that smirk again. "Lesson two!" he continued. "Always keep in mind the way Types can be used. Fire isn't expressly weak to Flying physiologically, but flames interact with air in interesting ways. Most new Trainers forget or ignore the advantages and disadvantages to a well-thought Type matchup, and it can leave you defenseless." Falkner tilted his head up to his Pokémon, who was now hovering close to him. "Close the gap, Tenku. You're free to approach."

The powerful bird spread its wings and rocketed town towards the arena again, its speed amplified by the wind at its back. It scraped its talons across the floating platform as it neared, baring them towards its opponent.

Without even calling a command, he watched Arden curl himself into a ball. The defensive posture didn't seem like it would make a difference, but the smaller form actually threw off Falkner's Pokémon enough to cause it to miss. Though he received a cut along his back, his reactionary gesture avoided further harm. That was a move, wasn't it? He remembered seeing something similar to it on TV. Defense Curl?

A look crossed the Gym Leader's face, one Ciel could only help but fear. He'd noticed something again. "Tenku, it's time to finish this. Ground yourself as close as possible."

The bird, following his command exactly, circled around the arena and dove directly for Arden once again, but instead of lashing out to attack it planted itself firmly on the ground in front of the Cyndaquil. The Pidgeotto bared its massive wings once again, giving off an imposing form.

"Use Gust, point blank!"

The size difference between Arden and Raven meant the former was substantially lighter, and Falkner knew that. The sheer force of the wing motion so close dislodged Arden's contact to the ground and flung him high into the air, sending him soaring clear over the edge of the arena into the pit below.

Ciel yelled after the form of his Pokémon going over the edge. He stared over the platform into the abyss and watched Arden fall into the blackness.

Falkner's voice behind him issued another command. "Tenku, catch."

With another powerful wing beat, Falkner's Pidgeotto itself dived through the tower, plummeting between the network of support beams that held up the platforms. Though he couldn't see well, he saw the two distant figures connect, and seconds later, Arden had been returned to the platform on the back of his opponent.

The referee chopped down with a blue flag. "The challenger's Pokémon is declared defeated by ring-out! The victory goes to the Gym Leader!"

He rushed to the side of Arden as soon as the battle ended and scooped up the creature into his arms. His flames were still flickering, but it gave Ciel an opportunity to scratch his head as a congratulatory gesture. Arden had tried his best, but unfortunately neither of his Pokémon, nor himself, were at the level needed.

It was over. They'd lost. He hadn't even managed to see what the Gym Leader's second Pokémon was. However, he strangely felt more energized than ever. There was so much information to take in. Falkner had purposely intended to show him and his team what exactly they could be faced with and had explained his thought process thoroughly.

Ciel recalled Arden and met in the center of the ring to shake the man's hand. The Gym Leader's expression looked much softer than before.

"You have a long way to go, but I'd say there's potential in your battle style," Falkner said.

"Why did you explain your strategy?" he asked, both confused and curious.

"It doesn't benefit me nor the Pokémon League if you never learn and improve. Gym Battles are supposed to be tests of your skills, but at the same time, they teach you knew ones," he explained. "You likely wouldn't have noticed the nuances in your Pokémon or their moves unless they were pointed out, because it's not something easy to look for at first. Learning by example and guidance is how I learned, and how my father learned before me, and how my grandfather learned before him."

Ciel nodded. "Thank you, sir."

Ciel handed him some of the Pokédollars in his pocket, a customary gesture of goodwill after most battles. The man walked back over to his side of the ring and returned to his position as an intimidating champion, the visage of teacher gone once again. "I hope to see you back here soon."

With that in mind, he turned away from the battlefield.

Just like his battle with Pryce, that battle was physical proof of where he stood as a Trainer. His first week of travel had given him a few things but that was only one half of what he knew needed to be done. It was time to buckle down and to give all his effort to improving his skills as a Trainer and connecting with his team. He figured that this was the point where his role as a Pokémon Trainer truly began.

There was a lot of work to do, but that daunting challenge only made him more excited to start again.

* * *

 **Hoo boy, this chapter was a killer. Through a combination of mid-term assignments and exams and an unfortunate lack of drive, I only started making real progress on this chapter about a week and a half ago. Six weeks is hardly an ideal break time, so I apologize for anyone who was kept waiting. On the bonus, this chapter is substantially longer than my average, so hopefully there's a bit of a payoff assuming that the pacing and general writing style are the same as (or hopefully better than) usual.**

 **This chapter is the first to highlight some changes to canon I'm making, but hopefully they are within the realm of effective suspension of disbelief. As unnoticeable as it is, Marill can't actually learn Pound, at least not within the games' current movesets, and it highlights that I'm going to be editing standing elements of some Pokémon in terms of moves and even Types in some instances. More on that to come.**

 **This is also the first chapter where there are two full battle scenes, and that's not going to happen very often. I'm still not entirely confident on my construction of Pokémon Battles and I can't really tell how well the logic flows, even through some meticulous editing. The next one technically has none, so that might strike a balance and fall more towards the adventure-like feel I'm generally trying to go for.**

 **In any case, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I'll see you next time for Chapter 6: Swallowed in Darkness.**


	6. Swallowed in Darkness

**This story is co-developed by Titan127.**

 **Disclaimer: Pokémon is a registered property of Nintendo, the Pokémon Company, and GameFreak. This work respectfully uses the world and characters of the Pokémon series, with no intent of harm on the original creators. Please support the official releases of the Pokémon franchise.**

 **Just a heads up, this chapter contains slightly more vulgar language than usual, but only for the opening scene.**

 **Chapter 6: Swallowed in Darkness (7,052 words)**

* * *

The artificial light flickered just slightly inside the pristine office. Wall paneling resembled any high-class office building and the atmosphere felt nearly identical, if not for the fact that they were multiple stories below ground. A mature, red-haired woman sat in a nice chair in front of a nice desk, wearing nice clothing and smoking a nice cigar. It was all bourgeois and shit. She took a drag and blew, causing the young man standing opposite her desk to fan the air. She took a long time to begin to speak.

"It took you long enough to make your way down to my office," she chided. It was said playfully, but anyone with half a brain cell could realize the undertone. Don't do it again. He got it.

She took another drag and continued. "As you probably already guessed, you've got your first operation ahead of you, and you can thank Archer's busy schedule for leaving it to you. Consider it a hazing."

He nearly struggled to find his words. Just being in the presence of the woman was surprisingly difficult, what with the aura she exuded and the smoke. He wouldn't bother complain about either to her face, but she made it clear she meant business. "Of course, Miss Ariana."

The boss laid out a folder on the table for him. Standard procedure. He skimmed through the materials for a moment—some schedules for local law enforcement in Azalea Town and private property layouts, a few he recognized from mining the town authority's private network himself. He wondered why she was collecting this information in the first place. What business did they have nosing around an old well?

"We're going to be relocating some Slowpoke tails," she said. Relocating was just business jargon for poaching, he surmised. "I have plans to get our little organization back out of its temporary grave, but we'll need funding to negotiate with. I've found a buyer in Orre that's willing to take tails off our hands."

"Isn't that a little out of my skill-set? You took me onboard as a hacker, not as muscle," he retorted, reflexively. His eyes widened as he realized the mistake.

No distinct emotion crossed her face, but her eyes found him. He could see the fury hidden behind them, the daggers thrown invisibly. Miss Ariana tapped the cigar on her ashtray. "I'd suggest you keep your mouth shut and follow orders. You're lucky that your computer skills impress me so much, so you don't want to make me regret making you an executive."

He pulled his black cap a little lower on his head of teal hair. "Right. I'll get to it, boss," he affirmed.

"However," the boss continued, "it's not all sour. Since it's your first true job for us, you'll have a little bit of help with you to keep things running smoothly." He heard her tap her foot on the hardwood floor.

Ariana's office door opened and inside stepped someone he can't recall ever seeing before, despite having been working with the Rocket Syndicate for nearly half a year. His gaze trained on the newcomer. A woman, wearing a strange robe, heels, and slicked-back violet locks. He felt himself shake from his core when her lips curled upwards into a smile.

Her features were indescribably sinister, seeming jagged and sharp from every angle. He was one to trust his intuition, and it told him at first glance that this lady was bad news from all accounts. It scared the fuck outta him.

"Ahem," Miss Ariana sounded to get his attention. "This is Agent Vampire, a secret weapon of mine that I like to keep around. She'll be the enforcer of this little task."

It wasn't to enforce the operation, of course. It was to keep him in line, since the boss still considered him an unknown. Part of him didn't blame her for not trusting a college kid whose only claim to fame was knowing his way around some firewalls.

"That's all I have for you," the boss announced as she leaned back into her chair and took another drag from the cigar. "You're dismissed, and I hope you'll get everything in order soon. I'm not expecting a poor job."

As fast as he could manage without it seeming rude, he excused himself from the boss's office and tried to ignore the threatening "enforcer" following his footsteps down the hall. He kept his head down and tried to keep his distance, but as the base opened into one of the many common areas, he realized he had to buckle down, swallow his fear, and show that he meant business. He didn't end up becoming the "coolest guy in the Rocket Syndicate" by acting like a pussy.

He stopped for a moment and took in a deep breath. You're making a name for yourself here, kid. It was the most notorious gig he could take, and it was making him a shit-ton of money, so he knew it wasn't any time to back down. Rocket was where he belonged now.

You can do this, Proton, he told himself. He threw away his real name in favor of the only identity that mattered now.

* * *

A squeak was followed by the release of a large fireball that crossed their training ground. The flame looked substantially larger than usual and exploded as it impacted the ground. Ciel blinked.

"Arden, what exactly was that?" he asked in confusion.

His Pokémon tilted his head, before testing the waters by spitting another flame. This was one was normal sized and veered off target to splash into the lake. Ciel retrieved his pen and marked the occurrence down in the notebook to revisit later. He'd purchased it at a general store in town along with some other supplies so he could record strategies, almost reminding him of searching for school supplies for an upcoming semester. It had been a while.

He already had another interesting note from a couple of days ago he hadn't managed to replicate in which Arden released a cloud of smoke—while belching, of course—that blanketed the area around him. After a bit of research using a computer in the Pokémon Center, he'd learned that it and similar moves were called Smokescreen, which were supposed to reduce the accuracy of Pokémon on the battlefield due to obscured vision. Maybe it could be useful in the same way Falkner had mentioned messing with the enemy's senses?

He and his team were training on an isolated island sitting inside a small lake north of Violet. It was far enough away from the main city so that they weren't often bothered, and the surrounding water was a barrier to Arden potentially setting anything ablaze. A cool breeze blew across the lake and set the atmosphere for the temperate mid-afternoon. It would only be getting warmer and warmer, so he stopped a minute to appreciate the mood, take a deep breath full of cool air, and clear his thoughts before returning his attention to his Pokémon. Though he was focusing on Arden primarily, both other members of his team were active and training their own moves against the open air.

The beak pulling painfully his ear told him that it wasn't exactly accurate. "I hate birds," he said aloud, putting down his notebook.

Clovis was standing atop his head and preening his Trainer's hair, digging his painfully sizeable claws into Ciel's scalp. The bird curiously explored his head as a vantage point and occasionally chirped in satisfaction at his new "nest." He nuzzled himself within the Ciel's thick, blond hair, dragging strands every which way with his beak to perfectly tailor the new home. Ciel didn't exactly appreciate it, but he tried to be positive and view it as a sign of affection.

A small circle Ciel drew into the pavement with blackboard chalk served as Arden's target, and he'd instructed the small mammal to attempt to hit the center from behind a line. Playing to his personality, Ciel found that the Pokémon saw it as a game and enjoyed playing if only to have fun, but his aim had improved tremendously. He wasn't sure how it would translate into fighting a moving opponent, but greater control would benefit Arden no matter what. Whenever he hit the target, his flame sacs would discharge, and he'd squeak in excitement and bound in circles.

Ciel walked over to Raven to be both disappointed and unsurprised. In the short time he'd left her alone to practice footwork, she'd already curled up by the water to soak up some sun. The Trainer tapped his foot while considering how to motivate her to commit to training. For as much as she seemed to throw herself at any opportunity to battle other Pokémon, she surely didn't ever want to put in the work to improve.

"Hey, Clovis," he said, causing the bird to crane down his head and stare him in the eye, upside-down. He chirped. "How'd you like to battle?"

Though he responded to his nickname, Clovis probably didn't fully understand most his speech yet due to lack of exposure. However, the Flying-type's curiosity removed him from Ciel's head anyway. He fluttered down to the ground and began pecking at Raven's coat. She roused slightly but simply shifted her position and laid her head back down.

Clovis was offended at being ignored and did the only logical thing. His beak began to glow. He pulled his head back. _Bam!_

Raven yelped in pain and jumped into a battle stance, growling viciously at the bird who dared disturb her lazy slumber. She received a disrespectful chirp in return—it riled her up further and she prepared to pounce. Ciel made way to step in, only to pause when he realized the useful situation. Clovis was the same species as Falkner's Pidgeotto and wasn't keen yet on listening to Ciel battle commands, so even though it wasn't a perfect simulation, the newcomer could provide solid preparation of Falkner's own unpredictable Flying-types.

Raven lunged at the Pidgey with her claws extended and the bird took flight. He smirked to himself and got ready to command.

"Time to train, girl," he said, falling into position behind her by the water. "Hold position and wait. You need to trust your eyes as much as possible and not lose sight." Falkner had been right in seeing that Raven relied more on her hearing and smell than her sight, which he assumed was because she spent so much time with her eyes _closed_ instead of being alert and aware.

Clovis fell into a nosedive and streaked towards the ground, but Raven stood her ground. "Dodge!" Just as the flyby seemed to make contact, she sidestepped to the right and the bird darted past her. She kept her eyes intently focused on her hovering opponent, snarled, and fell low back into a battle stance, horn forward and ready to fight.

He could almost see the image of Falkner's Pidgeotto reflected in Clovis's actions. This matchup would be the perfect little practice exercise in dealing with aerial opponents. Ciel held his arm out to command.

As his partner and newest team member sparred, time flied past into late afternoon as they went through the motions over and over. Clovis would dive or attack in close quarters with his claws, Raven would dodge and parry in response. She kept her distance throughout the exercises, and he instructed her to stay as visually focused as possible in hopes that Falkner wouldn't be able to shut them down again, or at least not as completely.

The horizon began to burn red as the four of them training on the isle spent the day away. A few people walking to and from Sprout Tower, which lied on the other side of the bridge connecting the lake shored, stopped to watch them train but Ciel kept himself as focused as possible. His team sometimes swapped positions, Arden sparring with Raven and Clovis with him as he tried to teach the bird battle commands.

When that day's training finally ended, all of them stopped for the day and sat by the water to eat. His team lit up as a collective upon seeing the food he'd brought and began hungrily digging in. Assorted berries and cooked meats were laid out from his duffle. The meat had set him back the most, especially what the cashier at the Poke Mart had recommended for his Cyndaquil—crunchy remains of a Unovan Pokémon called Durant that Arden's species fawned over but was rare to find in the wild around Johto. However, despite how much money he spent, he felt happy upon seeing his friends enjoying the meal together, and he stared out onto the water.

After his Pokémon had finished eating, a presence made itself known to him, and Ciel turned up to see a familiar face. It was almost jarring to see him wearing something different, but rather than the elaborate traditional outfit he was sporting before, he was in casual clothing. Just a simple t-shirt and shorts.

"I see you're making progress," Falkner said to him.

"How long were you watching?" he asked.

"Hmm," the man put a finger to his chin, "about ten minutes. I was delivering something to the elder at Sprout Tower and saw you on my way back. You've put the week to good use. I can see a substantial difference."

Ciel scratched the back of his head, nearly flushing at the compliment. "Thank you," he replied. He wasn't sure what else to say.

A grin crossed the Gym Leader's face and he pushed his shaggy hair out of the way of his eyes. "I see you've got a Pidgey of your own. Were you inspired by my magnificent bird Pokémon?"

Clovis had returned to his nesting place atop Ciel's cranium and was satisfied enough with the arrangement of his nest to curl up and snooze His hair must have been a complete mess, and he could only wonder in horror what it might look like from someone else's perspective.

"Actually, I'd caught him before our battle," Ciel explained. "I thought not to use him because he was so new to the party."

"Ah, I see."

Ten elapsed seconds of silence as both he and Falkner cast their gazed over the lake reminded Ciel that he was _awful_ at small talk. Absolute rubbish. He could feel the air pressure skyrocketing as he wondered how to continue this conversation. Falkner was a region-renowned Trainer who has just complimented his skills—vaguely—and he had nothing else to say? He needed to find something to talk about.

What could he ask a successful Trainer, one who knew his path in life and could act as guide? Ciel thought really hard about that, wondering if he had anything presently that needed answering. Something came to him, something that had been bothering him since before he even first set off those weeks ago.

"Well, I should get back," the man said and turned to walk away. He would miss his chance!

"Wait!" he called awkwardly, causing the man to stop in his tracks and turn his head back. "I, erm, need to ask a question."

"Go ahead," Falkner offered.

"What were your goals when you first started out as a Pokémon Trainer? Why did you want to so what you do?"

"Why do you want to know?"

 _"I was you once, you know."_ Pryce's words dug into his thoughts. _"Your mother was you, and I her. We've all been or will be at a point where we don't know what it means. It's not supposed to come easy. You just get better."_

"I'd just… like to have a frame of reference," Ciel told him. He's been unsure of his goal as a Pokémon Trainer for as long as Raven had been his partner. Trainers strived to be the very best like no one ever was before, but for most people, there will always be someone better. It wasn't motivating to want to be the greatest in the world. How was he supposed to drive himself instead? Brent Custos wanted to be a hero, but what should Ciel Fauder want?

The Gym Leader began laughing. Ciel raised an eyebrow, unsure of what it meant.

"When I was a kid," Falkner began, looking towards the sky, "I wanted to catch every bird Pokémon known to man. My family is renowned for their proficiency in training avian creatures, and I'd look up in awe at my grandfather with his proud Skarmory and his own aviary full of Pokémon the world over and strive to be just like him. An undeniable master."

A certain look of childish wonder crossed his face, matching exactly the story he told. The memories seemed so vivid across his expression, so genuine, despite that the moment he was describing was probably decades ago. "Then, I realized it was impossible. You know how people talk about wanting to 'Catch Them All,' like from that TV show? I realized it's a physical impossibility to catch every bird Pokémon, let alone every Pokémon in existence. My grandfather only actually owned a small fraction, but it seemed so much grander when I was younger. But, in a way, I don't think I ever really stopped trying or let the impossibility dissuade me from becoming a master bird keeper." Falkner finally looked down from the sky and turned to face him. "Was that not what you wanted to hear?"

Ciel let out a sigh. Maybe not, he thought. "I just don't know what to make of myself. I have a friend who knows deeply what he wants to do, but I'm still aimless."

"And that's perfectly fine. You don't just create some lofty ambition on the fly. Being a Trainer is a work in progress with no actual completion. Hell, it doesn't even have to be some massive grand statement you want to make to the world, just make it something personal. What defines you? That should be your goal."

The man checked a watch on his wrist and stepped away. "Anyway, I've got to run. The League needs me to do some paperwork. I hope to see you back at my Gym soon!" Falkner waved goodbye as he jogged across the bridge towards the main shore of Violet.

Ciel's attention drifted back to the water and to his Pokémon, but he felt more absent minded than before and realized that there was no reason to continue. They had done enough training for the day.

As he walked back across the bridge and into the purple-colored world of the city, he thought about his goal. The Gym Leader's words echoed.

What defined him?

* * *

A few days later, Ciel was going about business as usual. He'd wake from his rented room at the Pokémon Center, eat a hearty breakfast, and then commit to training for a few hours each day. All his Pokémon were showing substantial improvement, especially Clovis, who found an affinity for cool acrobatic tricks while learning a structured battle style. It relieved him to know that he wouldn't being clawed at by pissed off birds any more than he needed to be.

He wasn't entirely sure he was ready to re-challenge the Violet Gym, both because he felt intuitively that their training hadn't concluded yet and because he didn't really have an answer to Falkner's question. The teenager had been mulling over it for a few days to no avail. He thought that he could call his mother again to ask for her own thoughts, but he'd have to wait until she was definitely home from the Mahogany Gym.

While he was walking out through the streets of Violet after training, he was pulled aside by Brent, who had also been out-and-about in his own bid for the Gym's badge.

"Is this one yours?" Brent asked, jerking a thumb backwards at the person behind him.

Ciel leaned on one foot and cast his sight past Brent's shoulder. Ethan waved vigorously in his direction, ten paces away, with an ear-length smile on his face.

"I've met him before," Ciel said, hesitantly returning the wave.

"I mentioned you in passing while we were talking in a waiting line at the Gym and he got very excited," the man told him with a chuckle.

"Hey, Ethan!" Ciel called, causing the other Trainer to scurry in his direction. He was like a lost, excited baby Pokémon.

"What's up, guy? I haven't seen you in weeks!" An infectious energy just radiated away from him, and Ciel had to admit that he was feeling some of that liveliness himself. Ethan pulled him into a hug suddenly, and though he was surprised at the intimacy of the gesture, it wasn't unwelcome.

Ethan let go and began bouncing around some more. Ciel noticed then that he seemed to have an oddly shaped patch of hair above his lip, one much brighter than his dark hair. He tilted his head. "What's that on your face?"

"Oh, that's just my detective moustache. I can't seem to get it off."

Ciel decided not to ask when and why. Before the conversation could continue further, someone else approached the group. Another familiar face appeared

"Hello again, Ciel. It's nice to see you," greeted Lyra. The girl's baggy overalls were looking somewhat worse for the wear, and he wondered how long she and Ethan had been traveling. "We just got off Route 31 yesterday. I was wondering when we'd catch up. We're still searching around for that Pokémon thief and it's keeping us distracted."

Right, he reminded himself, the Professor's Totodile was still missing. He noted to himself that he might offer to help them look, but he was focused on training for the time being and wasn't sure he could spare the time. No, a Pokémon's wellbeing came before training. But Ethan and Lyra also didn't sound like they were in much of a hurry. The police were looking for the thief too, probably.

"Another friend of yours?" Brent asked, referring to the girl. Ciel nodded.

"Ooh, Lyra, why don't we take them along with us? We're gonna get dirty and it'll be so much fun," Ethan said excitedly. He had no idea what the trainer was referred to, and apparently Brent didn't either, causing he and the man to exchange confused glances.

Lyra shrugged. "I guess so. We're heading to the Ruins of Alph, which are about three kilometers west of here."

"The Ruins of Alph?" Ciel asked.

"They're some old stone buildings that have become a big tourist attraction. Apparently, they confuse the hell out of archaeologists so much that world-class minds like Cynthia Masuta have given up trying to understand them. I have a tourism pamphlet that advertises that as a selling point. The ruins are all about an old language that's not been deciphered."

Ethan gave his own input. "People say it makes you feel really weird whenever you're inside the ruins. Like, all tingly and such. It sounds neat."

"Want to come?" Lyra offered.

Ciel looked back to Brent, who shrugged. "I've got nothing better to do," he said. Ciel matched the gesture.

"Alright!" Ethan shouted into the air, spinning his cap backwards as a gesture of seriousness. No one mentioned that his hat was _already_ backwards, so it became a normal ballcap. With his left arm curled to his side and his right arm pointed to the sky, he announced, "to the Ruins of Alph!"

As the Trainer duo had indicated, the distance to the ruins really wasn't anything to write home about. After leaving the city proper and making their way into the suburbs, it was only about a forty-minute walk past Routes 36 and 32 to take them to the supposed site of the ruins. Having handed Ethan the map to lead, Lyra surprisingly hit it off with Brent. Along their walk, in between entertaining Ethan's various quips and penchant for taking wrong turns, he heard snippets of their conversation ranging from training practices to the instruments they played in high school band. Their personalities played off well together, both being the calm, helper type. They were good people, Ciel thought.

Ethan, who he had only met briefly before, was… interesting. Although Ciel found the trek to be somewhat boring in comparison, especially once they passed the nice houses of the Violet suburbs into the woods, Ethan seemed to be enjoying every step of the way.

"By the way, what's that thing in your backpack?" Ciel asked. The main flap of his bag was barely wrapped over a large round object that appeared to take up most of the space inside. It was adorned with green spots.

"Oh, that? So, we called Professor Elm while we were staying in Cherrygrove and he told us to meet this weird guy on Route 30 named Mr. Pokémon," Ethan explained. "Dumb name, right? But, he was a really chill guy and gave us this egg and said to walk around a whole bunch to help incubate it."

"Is it safe to just carry it in a backpack like that?"

"Definitely not. Lyra said you're supposed to incubate an egg in a warm place, and it was the best I've got. Though, I question the willingness of adults to give us high-responsibility tasks out of nowhere."

Ciel laughed. "My mom basically just told me to get out and dropped me at New Bark after I'd mentioned wanting to try the Gym Challenge once." Though, he felt somewhat surprised at the adeptness of Ethan's observation. Not that Ethan seemed unintelligent to him, but…

"Whoa!" Ethan exclaimed, causing the group's attention to shift to what had just been discovered.

Before them lied the ruins, revealed as the woods of Route 32 began to clear and the hill they stood on began to downslope. The group stood before nearly countless rows of low-lying, stone buildings, all of which had been worn away with time. Some structures had been completely annihilated, leaving only bare foundations and mounds of dust. The ruins stretched across a massive expanse of sand and sandstone, painting their view with nothing but a yellowish tan.

What's more, and perhaps the strangest thing about viewing the location before them, was that there seemed to be a strange dullness in the air. At first, Ciel thought it was the concentration of kicked up dust, but nothing seemed to irritate his eyes or catch in his throat. There was just a consistent muteness about the ruins that muddled his vision.

Desolation. That's what Ciel felt as he looked upon the remnants of days past. The same kind of longing one might feel when remembering a deceased relative. Was that the "weird" feeling Ethan had described, or was it just his own observation?

"How old are these ruins?" Brent asked the group. "They look surprisingly intact."

"According to that tourism pamphlet, scientists date the ruins based on their relative decay at about twelve-thousand years old," said Lyra.

That's odd, Ciel thought. From what he remembered studying world history in high school, permanent civilization didn't really exist until about 7,000 years before the present. The fact that structures that old existed and _still_ existed caused his mind to run.

"Man, this is super cool! It's like a whole other region around here," said Ethan, mesmerized by the empty site. While everyone else was talking amongst themselves, the young Trainer took it upon himself to break off into a jog towards the center of the ruins.

Lyra sighed and followed him. "If we don't keep up with him, he'll probably do something stupid. Come on."

Ciel and Brent again found themselves shrugging to each other before trailing after Ethan into the ruins.

* * *

With a wide swipe of his hand, Ethan cleared away a covering of dust from a wall tablet. Engraved into the stone were odd symbols resembling a language, each holding the unifying trait of a single, circular eye, laid out in consecutive rows. Ciel certainly couldn't make out what any of the characters were, but to know that experts were stumped too?

Ethan was holding a torch fashioned from a wayward stick he'd picked up outside and an Ember from Arden, whose Poké Ball Ciel had with him. had opted to stay back at the room and sleep. The boy held the torch closer to the wall

"Hey, guy, I don't think you're supposed to touch that. It could be fragile. You know, a 'keep hands away from the exhibit' type thing," Brent said, grabbing his shoulder to get Ethan's attention.

Ethan brushed it off, continuing to look intently at the ancient language. "Pssh, relax. If they really didn't want us to touch it, they'd have guards and staff all up and down this place to yell at us."

"I mean, yeah, but I still don't think you _should_ ," the man said.

Ciel looked to Lyra for her thoughts, since she acted like Ethan's caretaker. The girl didn't step in.

"As much as I also don't think he _should_ touch anything, I actually have to agree with him," she conceded. "Maybe it has something to do with how inconclusive the research findings about this place are. Still, I find it strange that there'd be no one staffed here at all."

It really was kind of unsettling. According to Lyra's pamphlet, the Ruins of Alph was one of the most active research sites in Kanto, Johto, and the additional territories also part of the Nihon macro-region. Ciel even noticed a pristine cabin as they walked through the exterior of the ruins that implied some people were permanently situated there.

"We should keep moving. We might find something more interesting than just repeated wall messages. And let's not stay here too long," Ciel said, and the rest of the group agreed.

As they walked, they periodically examined interesting things within the spaces of the buildings. Several of the structures were interconnected with hallways linking two or more full buildings. Stone roofs crumbled above them, occasionally allowing sunlight to filter inside and shine in patches onto mounds of dust. As Ciel stepped over a large fallen stone, he realized something.

"Hey, we aren't going to encounter any wild Pokémon in here, are we? This is a pretty dark and secluded place, and I've only got two members of my team with me," he said. "I don't want anyone to get attacked, especially not while Ethan has that egg."

"I've got my Sentret, if that helps," Brent said.

"I've got a Marill and a Sunkern," said Lyra.

"Marigold for me!" Ethan said, though Ciel had no idea what Pokémon that was. "Worst case scenario, I could use the egg to bash something over the head." Lyra shot Ethan a death glare. The boy scratched his head.

"Right, right," Ciel said sheepishly, feeling somewhat ashamed for assuming the other Trainers were incapable of defending themselves. He just didn't like to chance anyone getting hurt, especially if he could do something about it.

"Whoa, look at this!"

Ethan ducked into a low hallway that led to a completely dark room of the ruins. Holding his torch into the blackness, Ethan revealed a large structure in the center of room covered in yet more ciphers and odd masonry. Lyra snatched the torch from her partner's hands to prevent him from going any further without her consent, and the four slowly approached the structure in the center of the room. They stopped as the writing became visible.

"I've got to be honest, this is making me feel like a real adventurer. Just make sure not to spring any booby traps," joked Brent.

It looked like a shrine. Stone blocks arranged in a vague "U" shape left an open space for someone to stand, or rather, pray, and a space cut into the stone might be where an offering would be placed to appease a deity. Below it, as revealed by the torch, was an engraving. A Pokémon.

"I don't recognize that one," Lyra announced while peering intently at the structure. The outline etched into the stone was one of a winged beast and reptilian form, though simplified and stylized. Ciel would have pinned it as a Charizard, a powerful Pokémon from Kanto, but it didn't look quite right.

"Let me see!" Ethan exclaimed as he snatched the torch back and stepped forward once more towards the structure.

 _Crack._

Before his brain has even processed the sound, he reacted on instinct. Ciel jumped forward and grabbed Ethan by the shirt. With as much power as he could muster, he tossed the other Trainer as far away from the center of the room as possible.

Ethan landed on the stone with a grunt just as the floor in the center of the room gave way and Ciel plummeted into an unknown darkness. He screamed.

* * *

Though his eyes were open, he couldn't see. All his other senses were firing on overdrive. Echoed sounds passed in and around his head, and amidst the noise he could hear his own heartbeat in his chest. His nose was overblown by the presence of dust and earthy stone, and he could feel particles of sand in his mouth.

He tried to focus off it, but he couldn't ignore the pain. An unbelievable, burning pain in his left shoulder. He knew immediately that he'd dislocated it, but as much as he was tempted to try to set it back in place, a sparse rational thought amidst his overstimulated mind told him that attempting to do so in complete blackness might be a bad idea.

Eventually, Ciel slowly picked himself off the ground and tried to ascertain his surroundings. Slowly craning his neck upwards, he couldn't even see where he'd fallen from, and no voices of his friend were audible. Where in the world _was_ he?

Luckily, he was alive, and the first thing he did was check his pocket. Both Poké Balls were still intact. That was a relief. He had landed on his left side and they were in his right. Despite his own condition, it reassured him to know that the capsules hadn't been lost to potentially be picked up and opened. So, his Pokémon were safe with him. Now he had to figure out the same for himself.

Other options were completely out of the question due to lack of visibility, so he began to walk, feeling around with his good arm into the darkness. He found a wall and began sliding along. The granules of dust under his fingers were magnified with his heightened state, as if he could individually pinpoint each speck.

Curiously, a tiny, miniscule glow appeared ahead of him. It was drifting. Apprehensive, Ciel stopped his movement and stood completely still as the orb of dull light floated gently towards him. His eyes finally began to function normally, and within the radius of the glow was… something.

Keeping his eyes focused on it helped distract himself from the searing throb of his dislocated shoulder. A small being resembling that ancient language gently floated in the darkness, complete with the same unblinking eye. It passively regarded him and swayed in front of him, as if curiously examining his person. He'd never seen any records of a living being looking like it.

"I… what… what are you? A type of Pokémon?" he asked to no response. The creature drifted aimlessly into the dark as if it had forgotten him entirely.

Slowly, he looked around and realized that these creatures had filled the hallway, bringing with their presence small pockets of light throughout the space he was enclosed in. Had they all suddenly appeared when he wasn't looking?

He felt the pain begin to fade—more due to habituation than it subsiding—and another feeling immediately replaced it. A curious perplexity rooted both in his mind and his body. He realized that it was the 'weird' feeling that Ethan had mentioned. The best way he could describe it was a sense of déjà vu, wracking him with the unexplainable experience of abstract past. As he moved further through the depths of the ruins along the wall, searching for a way out, that sensation didn't ever seem to disappear. While grateful for it fighting back against the awareness of his injury, the omnipresence of the feeling unnerved him

Each of the floating Pokémon combined produced a small light, but together their combined luminescence returned his vision enough to know that he was inside a long rectangular hallway. He was supporting his movements with one of its side walls. Down the center of the hallway were a series of repeating columns, pulling his attention and taking him somewhere. Ciel had no idea how long the ruins would go on, but with few alternatives, he kept moving, guided by the light of the ancient language.

Really, he wasn't sure how long he moved, but it felt like hours. Be stepped onward, no closer to a destination than before—when he looked back, the hall hadn't changed. Had he even moved? Eventually, he noticed a gradual increase in light in his surroundings. The hallway twisted and ran back the way it came, or so he thought, but the change told him that he wasn't returning to a previous area. The Trainer kept moving, even though it could have led to more danger.

Even after he began hearing the voice.

Words echoed through the catacombs of the Ruins of Alph, and as he approached ever closer to the end of the hallway and their source, he understood more and more. Someone was talking, perhaps to themselves, and he approached as silently as he was able.

"—e wr-t—gs -at-h s-me ci-p-e—d -in-i-g- a- th- o-he- -oc-a—on-"

As the hallway ended, it revealed an open chamber, it too shrouded mostly in darkness. There weren't any of the glowing entities that were causing the light. No, instead it was a lone torch being held by a man. Ciel quietly positioned himself behind the hall's last pillar and looked upon the lone chamber, where the man cast his torch upon an engraved wall.

Resting against the pillar, he listened in. "Father's writings were completely accurate. It's here." The words were completely audible. "I wonder if those officials are even are aware of this place's existence."

Even though he wanted to see what was going on, he slid back to the other side of the pillar, turning away from the man to hide. The voice wasn't familiar at all, and something about the situation told him to turn away, _now._ He wanted nothing to do with whatever was happening, but did he have any way out? There was no exit, no way for he or his Pokémon to leave this place.

"Well, it's completely metaphysical, isn't it?" the man rambled to himself. It's not a geologic structure, or at least it isn't any longer. But the power is still here and still intact, which means…" he trailed off.

A heartbeat pounded massively in Ciel's chest, both from a returning pain in his arm and his intuition screaming against him. But he was fixed in place, whether it be by curiosity or an unexplained fear.

In a sudden burst, the man began laughing. "Yes. _Yes_. This is the beginning of something extraordinary, something that only I will lay claim to. Four remain..."

Through one last bout of courage, he revealed himself and stepped past the pillar, intent to find his way out. He'd face the man despite his instinct.

In a flash, something appeared in front of him. "Boo!" exclaimed the wispy form of a Pokémon that invaded his vision. Ciel shouted in surprise and fell flat on his back, smashing horribly against the ground.

Now, the pain was beginning to catch back up with him and he felt like he was losing himself. The light suddenly faded into blackness, and as he barely craned his neck over to peer into the chamber, the man was gone. The circular wisp above him laughed creepily as the darkness overtook him.

Gone.

* * *

"Ciel!" Lyra exclaimed, causing him to snap to attention with a groan.

"Oh, thank goodness," said Brent, adding a sigh.

"Where… where am I? Did you guys see… " Ciel asked, looking around. His eyes filled with dim light, and a glance around told him that they were just outside one of the ruined buildings in the cool evening. It was still slightly dark outside.

"We're outside the ruins now," Lyra reassured him. "We dragged you out after you fell in that little hole to see if you were hurt, and fortunately you seemed fine even though you blacked out for a bit. I'm glad you're okay."

Ciel's attention immediately snapped to his left arm. It wasn't dislocated. He spun it around just to be sure. "Yeah. I think I'm good," he managed.

Ethan was stretching his arms over his head nearby and let out a yawn. "I'm never dragging a person out of a two-meter hole ever again. No fun at all," he complained. Two meters? That couldn't be right. "Thanks for grabbing me, by the way. I landed on my stomach and the egg is safe, too."

"Are you okay to stand?" Brent asked. Ciel nodded in response. "We really should get back. That's enough adventure for one day, huh?"

Unable to find his words to speak, he stood and followed as the remainder of the group headed back to town. He felt again in his pockets for his Poké Balls and found them right where they were. However, he felt a third in his pocket. Hadn't he left Raven at the Pokémon Center?

Ciel withdrew the capsule and expanded it to ready size. Its information panel read "GASTLY" in capital letters.

Ethan, Lyra, and Brent periodically asked if he was okay, and he kept reassuring them that he was fine, but he mostly refrained from the conversation at they made their trek back from the Ruins of Alph. After what he'd seen, he felt jumbled and couldn't manage to put it into words. Had he even seen it at all, or was there no room under the shrine in which he fell?

There were two explanations. Either it was real, or it wasn't.

Ciel wasn't sure which scared him more.

* * *

 **Am… am I too late for Halloween?**

 **This chapter was intended to be a spoooooooky romp through the Ruins of Alph just in time for the season of ghosts and ghouls, but I suppose I missed my mark. Oh well. Happy belated Halloween to anyone that celebrates it and I hope the end-of-year holidays bring you some more joy.**

 **Now, while this plays into some mythos I hope to build, I had somewhat envisioned this just to be a one-off chapter as a distraction/pleasant aside to the regular travel and training routine the story has taken so far. So, while what occurred in the Ruins of Alph does have some overarching plot relevance, that won't be apparent for a while. I'll just let it simmer. Next chapter brings us right back on track.**

 **With this chapter, I've hit a length milestone, this one being 40,000 words, and I'm very excited for it. I've been having difficulties making my story visible, so it being searchable within as many criteria as possible is very helpful. It's also a mark that I've been writing regularly, which is something I've struggled with over the past year due to various reasons. Hooray for me, and hooray for anyone who enjoys a semi-regular update schedule!**

 **Anyway, I always appreciate reviews as a source of feedback, so make sure to tell me what you liked/disliked about this chapter/story so I can improve my writing and keep the narrative strong. Any comments are welcome.**

 **Join me next time for Chapter 7: Eye of the Hurricane. See you then!**


	7. Eye of the Hurricane

**This story is co-developed by Titan127.**

 **Disclaimer: Pokémon is a registered property of Nintendo, the Pokémon Company, and GameFreak. This work respectfully uses the world and characters of the Pokémon series, with no intent of harm on the original creators. Please support the official releases of the Pokémon franchise.**

 **Chapter 7: Eye of the Hurricane (9,467 words)**

* * *

Today was the day.

Their training had lasted for exactly fifteen days, not including a few intermittent rest days where he and his team sat around their guest room or had fun around the city. The Trainer was certain that they were ready. Raven had spent most of her time training her senses to prevent herself from being caught off guard, Arden had a new move up his sleeve, and Clovis had become a surprisingly adept fighter that could battle on the same aerial field as Falkner. The only Pokémon unaccounted for was the Gastly he apparently now owned, which he had opted to shove in his PC rather than confront whatever hallucinogenic fever dream that had been part of. Otherwise, and by all accounts, he believed he had a team ready to take on the Gym Leader.

So why was he still so nervous? He'd set his alarm and woken early but had yet to make his way to the Gym. He hadn't even brushed his teeth, showered, or anything that involved getting ready for the day. It had been four hours.

Ciel paced around his guest room. Though it was almost a standard hotel room, it had a certain aura to it that always made sticking around slightly uncomfortable. Maybe it was the Pokémon Center's trademark peppermint red and white color scheme that felt of sterility. It was technically part of a hospital, so he wasn't sure what he expected. As he ran over his thoughts, Ciel continuously scratched his chin, bristling the short hairs that reminded him that he needed to shave soon. Plaguing him was a statement Falkner had made to him the previous week.

What defined him?

Really, what _did_ define him? Unless he was an outlier, he realized that most people rarely stopped to introspect themselves and consider just who they are and what they wanted. When was the last time he thoroughly sat down and described who he was? Since leaving school there was no pushing force to lead him somewhere, nothing but his own lacking drive to keep him moving forward. People usually found passion through school and their friends, or some other outlet. He really regretted not going to college then.

In a bought of insight, he realized the subtlety of the required ages of Pokémon Trainers. Under normal circumstances, a person couldn't apply for a Trainer Card and take the licensing exam until they were eighteen, two years after they left high school. The only reason he was early was due to the exception that League staff could write recommendations for their kids to start at sixteen. Otherwise, the time gap was meant to dissuade people from becoming Trainers and being in the same predicament he was.

He stopped pacing a moment and snorted, realizing humorously that his musings were like a mid-life crisis.

He knew, with some hesitation, that he wanted to be a Pokémon Trainer. He was sure of that, always had been. But that didn't justify itself and just opened up another question. Why did he want to be a Pokémon Trainer besides following his family's line of work? There had to be some deep-seeded reason. Right?

"Gahhhhh." He groaned as he plopped down on the bed. His partner was resting as a curled white lump on top of every pillow she could find, hastily dragged into a pile. There was an annoyed growl as the bed bounced.

Reaching for the remote on the nightstand, he switched on the TV and began flipping through channels to find something to waste his time. Grossly limited as it was, the Center's cable had few things of interest besides the Indigo League's public broadcast channel, daytime soap operas, and blocked pay-per-view channels that he wouldn't be old enough to rent and wasn't in the mood for. He settled on ILPB5, the League's documentary channel, and tossed away the remote to vegetate.

" _The world of Pokémon, a spinning globe of wonderment! Home to an infinite array of creatures too varied to fully comprehend,"_ the program began, reciting a famous speech from the 1960s. _"Thousands, perhaps millions, meticulously fashioned by the forces of nature in all its glory, as only nature can. And no matter what corner of the world you find yourself, rest assured you'll find Pokémon there as well. Soaring overhead, skimming the clouds! And riding the currents undersea! Sharing the mountains majesty! And animating our many lush green forests. Happily making their home in fields of grass! Why, even our sprawling cities are teeming with them! People and Pokémon find common ground sharing the goal of victory in the art of battle, vying to become friends, comrades, and Pokémon Masters!"_

Ciel turned over in bed onto his stomach to pay attention as the images on the television suddenly shifted to a collage of black-and-white photos and grainy monochrome video clips from early last century. They depicted a man with ridiculously spiky hair commanding a Charizard in battle spliced with clips of the same man tossing paint at an easel. The first ever World Champion, Kaioma Yarrito.

" _Kaioma Yarrito was an artist, first and foremost, reflecting both in his prized landscapes and his wild battle style. Many claim that his creative instincts set the standard for modern Pokémon Battles, ushering in an era of unorthodox strategies and fantastical bouts from brilliants minds the world over."_ The Trainer was then shown holding a medal skyward on a pedestal, the date time-stamped in the bottom right. July 21st, 1900. _"With his team of Fire-type Pokémon, Yarrito claimed the title at the first biennial World Trial, the globe's premier world Pokémon battling championship. In this program, we will recount the events of his life and shed light on this world-renowned Trainer's rarely seen personal side, including a never-before-released-to-public interview with the man in the late 1970s. Stay tuned on ILPB5."_

Fortunately, Pokémon League public broadcasting never had advertisements, so Ciel was sucked into the documentary as he found himself enthralled by the life of one of the most legendary Trainers in history. He'd learned about the man before in passing but found himself enthralled by the documentary's manner of storytelling. It told of a man driven only by inner passion and a creative drive, who devoted his entire life to realizing his own art.

The program recounted his early years in childhood, his adventures through the Nihon, Kalos, and Sinnoh before Regions even existed, his World Trial appearance, and beyond. At intermittent points, the program cut to historians talking about various aspects of his training career and how they've impacted the world. Yarrito, according to a move historian, is credited with discovering the move Fire Blast, which he fashioned into a Kantonese character for "big" as a tribute to his heritage. Beyond his tenure as World Champion, he worked as a battle strategist during the Coalition War of the 50s, and then became a philanthropist, continuing to battle into his old age as a symbol of human potential.

Ciel wondered if he'd ever manage to achieve that level of greatness, and as much as he wanted to scream that it was possible, he couldn't truly believe so without his own goal. People wanted to be the best because something drove them to do it. Being the best didn't justify itself, because comparing yourself to others meant nothing if you yourself were nobody.

The television cut to a color broadcast, displaying the Kaioma Yarrito reclining in a lavish armchair. He brought a glass of water to his lips, highlighting the deep wrinkles outlined on the back of his hand and the bare bones of his aging face. He would have been in his late nineties, but his hair remained a vibrant shade of red.

" _What do you think was your motivation for being a Trainer for so long, Mr. Yarrito?"_ asked an interviewer in a nice suit.

" _My reason?"_ he proposed to the camera, simply and bluntly. _"I wanted to create something for my family to be proud of, just like my painting. It was never really about me, even if I gave it my own flavor."_ He chuckled happily and held back a cough.

As the program went on a tangent about his family to jump off his statement, Ciel reminded himself that he had somewhere to be and abruptly shut off the television. Fighting back against the urge to keep laying around all day, he decided to jump in the shower to get ready for his match.

"It's never really about me?" he asked himself. He spent a long time under the water trying to determine what he wanted that to mean. Fortunately, he knew someone who could tell him all about that.

* * *

Ciel continued to ponder while searching Violet City for Brent Custos. Without a PokéGEAR to hold his phone number, his contact with the other Trainer was sorely lacking, and situations like this required extensive trial and error to locate him. The brick paths of Violet lacked any gridlike planning, so he found himself walking in meaningless circles while looking for his friend.

He first checked by the lake since it was one of few places he was familiar with, but apparently Brent favored other locations to spend time with his Pokémon. This left him annoyed at the prospect of having to go out of his way, but he had a burning question to ask.

Speaking of burning, he fanned the smell of smoke away from his nose as Arden ignited behind him. His entire team was active, and both Arden and Clovis had taken to hitching a ride on their larger team leader. His Cyndaquil was attached to Raven's back with his claws digging into her fur for support, while Clovis stood atop her head as a vantage point to scan the area. He repeatedly chirped in interest at passing people and things.

He could see the annoyance across his partner's face, but surprisingly she made no attempt to shake off the other members of the team. She just kept walking, begrudgingly, probably wondering how that situation came to be. He wasn't sure himself.

As he learned through his extended stay, Violet was old. Buildings were either a traditional style that probably predated the creation of the Johto Region or were more recent brick buildings that ironically looked further dated due to architectural brutalism. Old versus new, lasting cultural significance versus modern, short-lived utility. Searching for his friend had given him an opportunity to just soak in the settlement in contrast to his usual there and back again routine while training.

The sidewalk he walked along led down for a couple of blocks. Soon, a three-meter fence appeared beside him, and curiously he followed the barrier to find out what exactly it was enclosing. Ciel came across its simple gate and stood vacant in front of it, peering past the bars.

A school, presumably for rising Pokémon Trainers if the hanging faded Poké Ball on the gate was any indication. Overgrown vines covered the bars as well as the collection of small campus buildings within the premises. Playing children inside the gate juxtaposed the aged, empty appearance of the school. They ran back and forth on the lawn with an orange canine, a Growlithe, darting between their heels and barking in excitement.

As he pictured himself at his own grade school, playing and running himself however many years ago, he reminded himself again that he had somewhere to be. Still, he smiled fondly, remembering when he had a little less to worry about.

Passing through Violet's so-called "old town", surrounded by more of those towering violet-roofed pagodas, he finally found Brent Custos with his own Pokémon inside a small public park. The man noticed him immediately walked over to greet him.

"Hey! I haven't seen you in a couple days. How have you been holding up?" the man put his hand up.

Ciel slapped it in a high-five. "Just barely," he joked. "I think I'm ready to head to the Gym." He motioned to his gaggle of Pokémon and the odd single unit they had formed.

"I'd go with you this time, but I promised my Nana that I'd come visit while I was in town. She lives here in Violet."

"Your grandmother?"

"Yeah. She lives up in the north side," said Brent.

"Mind if I watch you train a while?" Ciel asked as he sat down on a nearby park bench.

"If it suits you, I guess. I can't say that I'm going to be doing anything extraordinary."

The man returned to exercises with his partner Pokémon, Trainer calling out moves repeatedly and Pokémon following the command. It was simple stuff meant to build up muscle memory. They were working on a new move that involved his Sentret using its large arms to chop objects called Brick Break. Belying the name, his friend decided to use the park bushes as targets so as _not_ to break anything. Sentret chopped into various growths, rustling them but otherwise dealing no damage.

Every so often, Brent requested that his Pokémon use its tail bounce to attempt to hit a target in the air, such as an overhead tree. The brown creature landed on its own tail, bounded high, and chopped a branch of the tree straight in half. The resulting brush toppled down into the grass. Brent looked around, embarrassed, hoping that no one saw.

"Okay, maybe it's best we move onto something else," the elder Trainer announced. "You did great, Sentret, so just rest for a while."

His Pokémon bounced joyfully on his tail like a pogo stick. Acting on its instincts, it returned to the tree it had damaged and scaled the bark, resting on another branch to stare out over the landscape. "I appreciate you looking out for predators in this public city park," called Brent, before he turned back to Ciel. "Want to see a new Pokémon of mine?"

That piqued his interest. "Sure!" A few immediate thoughts ran through his head at what Pokémon his friend could have obtained since they last met. Mareep was common around that area, as were the Hoppip family if some of the magazine guides in his hotel room were accurate.

Brent gave him a sly grin and retrieved a Poké Ball from his pocket. It popped open with a neon red flash.

Ciel stared in wonder, then confusion, then disappointment as the red beam materialized into a flopping mess that bounced pitifully against the grounds. The space of the red light filled out with a round orange shape, connecting to various fins, golden whiskers, and a pair of lifeless, unblinking eyes. The Pokémon struggled against absolutely nothing as it made slapping sounds amongst the grass. He turned to Brent, the man holding this expectant look on his face.

"Well, what do you think?"

Ciel snorted. "A Magikarp? Really?" He covered his nose to stop the snorting from breaking out into full-on laughter. To be polite, of course.

The Trainer's hysterics only mounted as he witnessed the growing bright red flush across the man's face. He looked just like a pouting kid, something that almost reminded Ciel of his younger sister. Wow. As he looked again, the similarity was uncanny.

"You don't understand, Ciel," said Brent. "I got this Pokémon from a guy hanging around the Center. He told me he'd sell me this champ for a low ₽5,000 and that it was a great deal because it evolves into Gyarados. That sounded like a steal to me."

"That was a scam. You've been scammed."

"Alright, jackass!" Brent said while pointing a finger accusedly and picking up his fish. He held the large flopping mess to his shirt. "Just watch. This Magikarp is going to become the strongest Pokémon ever and I'm going to destroy you in battle when that time comes!"

"But, dude," Ciel said, "Magikarp _sucks_."

Brent withdrew the fish into its Poké Ball and sat down on the bench next to Ciel. If he only had two Pokémon, that being Sentret and Magikarp, there wasn't much else he could work on. Instead, he just opted to sit back on the bench, still steamed but making it obvious that he recognized Ciel's teasing as a joke. The elder Trainer threw his head back and let out a massive yawn. "So, is there any specific reason you came to find me? I'd have assumed you'd want to get to the Gym as early as possible to beat the lines. I saw how packed it can get on a good day."

"Oh, I actually wanted to ask you something," he admitted, unsure of how he originally intended to segway into it.

"Go ahead. I'm all ears, as long as you don't insult my Pokémon anymore."

"Do… do you mind telling me more about your mother?"

His expression visibly changed as if the thought itself softened him. It wasn't sadness. No, it was more like a calm reverence.

"That's a bit out of nowhere," he said.

"If you don't want to talk about it, then-"

Brent cut him off. "No, it's fine. I was just surprised, is all."

The man drew in a deep breath and waited. Waited. Ciel recognized that the man obviously was unsure about sharing. Just as he decided to tell the elder Trainer to forget he asked, the man spoke up.

"I guess the easiest place to start is my dad." Another long pause. "Hard to call him that anyway, given that I knew him for only half a year or so. My mom fell in love with him and they had me pretty soon after, and she thought it was going to be happily ever after. As fate would have it, the guy had a mental breakdown and disappeared only a few months later, and she never saw him again. I don't remember any of it, so I only really know it through her recollection of him."

He seemed completely indifferent. Not angry, not sad, just indifferent. Ciel sat quietly and listened intently in the hopes that it would give him some insight on his own goals. What exactly could make someone so sure in trying to become a real-life hero?

"For as long as I've known it, it's just been me and her. She never tried to look for anyone else. I know being a single parent sucks, and once I was old enough to really make sense of it, I knew she never had any money lying around. She was spending it all on me, making sure I was fed, making sure I was happy. I told her pretty early that I wanted to be a Pokémon Trainer after thinking it was so cool seeing it on TV, and I know she was fully aware how unstable of a profession it is, but she just said 'be whoever you want to be' and smiled."

He let out a soft laugh at nothing in particular. Ciel raised an eyebrow and the man continued. "You know, I never really knew the half of it until one day when I was about… twelve? Yeah, I'll say twelve. I couldn't sleep and was walking to the kitchen to get myself some water, and all I heard was soft sobs coming from the other side of her bedroom door. Mom was working about three jobs at this point and never said anything about it, but I sat down against the door and just listened to her cry, and cry, and cry. After a while I knocked on the door to see if she was alright, and when it opened, her face was completely dry, as if she hadn't been crying at all. She couldn't let me see that anything was wrong, and I can only imagine what kind of mental strength it must have taken to hide that day after day."

A part of Ciel felt a twang of guilt, realizing that he didn't feel the same level of respect for his own mother. That wasn't to say he didn't feel a deep connection with her, much more so than his father, but he saw her more as a close friend than as a infallible guardian in his mental image. Did that make him a bad person? He pushed the thought away as Brent spoke up again.

"That's really all there is. Once I got to high school, I talked to her more about everything I knew she'd done and I feel like there's nothing I could ever do to pay her back for it. I managed to get a good scholarship to college so she wouldn't need to worry, and for every bit of money I make while I train, I send some of it back to her so that she can have some extra to spend for herself." He let out a huge sigh and shook his head. "All she's ever said to me about trying to pay her back was to just be good to other people in return. That's a life lesson I've kept with me for a long while, and that's why I'm here now. I want to be able to give myself selflessly to other people just like she did for me, because I know how much it means to someone and how happy it can make someone feel when they know another person has given their everything for them."

Brent turned towards Ciel, and with the resolution of exactly the person he wanted to be, he said, "that's why I want to be a hero. For my mother."

The same feeling he had when they talked back in the Cherrygrove Pokémon Center ran through Ciel's mind then. From the eyes of someone struggling to find a definite ambition, Brent was everything he wanted himself to be. Someone he could look up to and model himself after, he hoped, and he was glad in that moment that he'd made a friend like him.

"Though," Brent said with a why laugh, breaking from his focused reverence, "I suppose I haven't done too much hero stuff yet. Just normal Trainer stuff."

"That's… wow." Ciel was stunned. "I'm sorry I made fun of the 'hero' thing when we first met," he said.

He laughed. "Don't sweat it. It still sounds weird up front, but it's just very personal to me, you know? Why did you want to know, anyways?"

"I was looking for something to model my own goals after. I'm lost myself, and you seemed like the most resolute person I know.

Brent's gaze cast out to his Sentret, whose residence on the tree branch had been invaded by Clovis and Arden curiously exploring the lookout spot upon the branch. Raven sat at the base of the tree, growling up at the others and keeping a close eye. "Is there anyone you want to do this for? Old friends, family? I just think about my mother and want to show her the kind of person I can become, and just like that, my doubt is gone."

Ciel wracked his brain for what exactly could drive him in the same way. He missed a bunch of his high school friends in Goldenrod, but he never felt like he got close enough to any of them to derive a deeper meaning from it. Hell, he'd never even managed to get a romantic relationship going.

And as he'd noted before, he couldn't find that same kind of connection with his mother that Brent could, perhaps because his family had never fallen on such hard times that would forge an unbreakable bond. Even worse, sometimes he had to remind himself that his mother had nearly stood back and tried to excuse every one of _those_ nights that his father had, that had led to…

" _Get away from her!" Ciel yelled, the ten-year-old holding his arms wide in front of his sister. Laina was crying against the wall behind him as their father's figure cast a massive shadow over them._

 _He had already hit her once. He wouldn't let it happen again. The fist flew and he braced himself for the impact. It never came, and a loud thud echoed as his inebriated father nearly punched a hole in the wall above him. His heart was pounding, racing, beating, murmuring. As the man stumbled off towards his bedroom, he felt the high slowly subside, and he turned back to his sister._

" _Laina, are you okay?" he asked. His voice cracked, hard, but he didn't care._

 _His younger sister was bawling her eyes out, but she managed a small nod. He pulled the four-year-old into a big hug as the door slammed down the hall. She was safe, and that's all that mattered._

Ciel stood up suddenly from the bench, his fists curled at his side, not in anger but in determination. He looked up into the sky and took a deep breath of the crisp spring air. Deep down, Ciel realized he wanted to become a Pokémon Trainer to be strong. He wanted to be stronger to protect someone who means more to him than anyone else.

"What's the matter?" Brent asked, an eyebrow raised in curiosity.

"I think I know who I'm doing this for," said Ciel. "Thank you, Brent. I wouldn't have been able to do it without you. I think I'm ready to head to the Gym."

The man smiled in understanding. "Go get 'em."

"Raven, Arden, Clovis!" he shouted, catching the attention of his three Pokémon, beckoning them to follow. As he made his way across the city towards the Gym, he felt the kindling of a small flame, one that his battle with Pryce had only barely sparked. He'd make sure this time to keep it burning.

* * *

The Gym was packed. Brent was right—the place got a lot of traffic despite being intended only for dedicated Trainers. Upon the elevator reaching its peak and revealing the upper level of the tower to him again, he was surprised to see a pair of grandstand-like fixtures tethered to the ceiling that weren't present the last time he'd visited. They were filled to the brim with spectators jeering at the current match on display.

As he hopped across the wooden boards, he tried to remain concentrated but felt distracted by the amount of noise echoing throughout the tower. More than once, as he stepped across the suspended platforms, he felt his vision blur and displace itself as he looked down, but he clenched his eyes shut for a moment and continued forward. Knowing now that a safety net existed helped him keep his calm, though that still brought up questions about how this kind of building structure didn't violate all kinds of workplace safety regulations. As he crossed the final gap to the floating battlefield, he stood on the edge in witness of the battle currently occurring.

Ethan threw his arm to the side and shouted. "Marigold, hit it with Poison Powder!"

Falkner issued his counter. "Use Gust to blow it back!"

As the Chikorita launched a wave of deep-violet particles at her opponent, the Pidgeotto's sudden gale collided with the poison and blew the attack around the ring, scattering purple across the entire battlefield in her and her Trainer's direction. Ethan held an arm up to his mouth to prevent breathing them in, but his Pokémon wasn't so lucky.

"Now, Tenku! Aerial Ace!"

As she began coughing and before she even had a chance to recover, Marigold was wildly struck across the body by the Pidgeotto's claw after it dove from its position in the air. With that, the battle had already ended.

Ciel approached his friend once the referee signaled that the battlefield was clear, standing over the other Trainer as he held his Chikorita to his chest. She was bleeding across her side, though not critically. Aerial Ace was a Flying-type move, which Ciel knew tended to do more damage to Grass-type Pokémon, and that was probably the reason she was more beat up than a normal battle.

However, as Ethan began applying an Antidote and a Potion from his bag, the Chikorita—Marigold—seemed more energized than ever. An elated expression crossed the plant creature's face and she whipped her leaf around in spite of her condition. Fortunately, she hardly felt the effects of her redirected Poison Powder since Ethan had applied the Antidote so quickly.

"Did you have fun?" Ethan asked the Pokémon while dressing her wounds. She responded with a hearty nod and a chirp of some kind. "Sorry I let you get so beat up."

Among the murmurs of the present crowd, he heard slow clapping from an approaching person. "Bravo, Ethan," chided Lyra. "I'm not sure what you were expecting trying to take on the Gym Leader with only one Grass-type Pokémon."

"Hey, she enjoyed herself!" Ethan stuck out his tongue in protest. "And the egg hasn't hatched yet."

"You're just causing us to be stuck here for a few more days and not looking for the thief," she said as she kneeled down next to him. At some point, she must have noticed Ciel's presence, as she waved in his direction. Ethan turned around to notice who she was gesturing at.

"You two argue like a couple," Ciel told them.

"Har har, very funny," said Lyra. "Are you here to challenge the Gym?"

He cast his eyes over to the opposite side of the arena, where Falkner was standing in wait for another Trainer to step forward. The man regarded him at a distance as another challenger stepped up to the arena to take their shot at the badge. The three Trainers moved their way to the stands to clear battlefield before it got hectic again, Ethan recalling Marigold for the time being. Small bridge-like structures connected the main battle platform and the hanging grandstands, which they stepped across to sit down on some available seats. Raven, who had been silently following him, was agitated by all of the commotion and angrily sat beside one of the seats.

"It'll be my second try," he said as they got situated. "Have you tried to challenge yet, Lyra?"

She pulled a case out of the yellow bag strapped over her shoulder and opened it to reveal eight spaces to hold badges. One slot was filled, housing a hexagonal-shaped object with a cut through one side.

"I won on my first attempt," she boasted. "Though, it was a pretty close match. It came down to Ray, my Sunkern, wearing down his second Pokémon with Mega Drain. My Marill had taken down his first and damaged his second beforehand."

"Mind if we stick around and watch your match, Ciel?" asked Ethan.

"Sure. I hope I don't choke with the eyes on me, though."

The three of them waited in the stands for about an hour as different challengers lined up to face Falkner. There wasn't any kind of line going due to the small space on the battlefield platform, though some Trainers were standing at the edge of the battlefield, so he surmised that everyone here to fight was running by the honor system and being patient. Individual battles went by quickly, with none of them involving more than two Pokémon. Whether that was the choice of the Gym Leader or the limitations of the challenger's party was unknown to him, as he couldn't easily hear the conversations between the two from the distance they were sitting.

One Trainer even managed to beat Falkner with an overwhelming type advantage. They had two Electric-types, one a familiar Mareep and the other a strange flat creature with a beak. He didn't recognise that one, but the fact that it shot sparks while making obnoxious farting noises made its typing clear. It must have been from another region.

Eventually, when Falkner put out another call for a challenger, no one else stepped up to battle. The three of them looked around for anyone in the stands who might have arrived earlier, but everyone already present by the time he arrived had taken their turn.

"You're up buddy!" cheered Ethan. "Have fun!"

Ciel stepped off of the grandstands and took his position opposite Falkner on the floating platform. He could feel the wind circulating throughout the spacious tower, filling his ears in combination with the chatter among the crowd. This would be the first time a battle of his had a genuine audience.

"I'm glad to see you've returned." The man crossed his arms confidently across his chest. "I don't believe I ever got your name."

"It's Ciel. Ciel Fauder."

As uncommon as his surname was in the Johto Region, the amused recognition Falkner displayed was no surprise. He must have met his parents, as Gym Leaders across the region were in contact with one another due to League coordination.

"Well, Mr. Fauder, I believe it's time to show me what you've learned. How many Pokémon will you be battling with today?"

"Three," he said.

"I'll only allow a maximum of two, for brevity's sake. You can also fight with one if you'd like, but it would put you at a disadvantage."

Damn. He had to leave someone behind? As much as he didn't want everyone's training to be wasted, it was probably better to keep the battle short. He wasn't used to long, drawn-out matches.

Who to leave behind, though? Clovis was inexperienced but was the only one who could fight the Gym Leader's bird Pokémon on equal footing. Err, winging. Raven was easily his strongest Pokémon in terms of sheer fighting power but had few options to get close. Arden could fight at long-range, but fire may not be the most effective option if the wind trick Falkner pulled in their last battle was any indication.

He sighed, realizing that his best option involved leaving his strongest Pokémon out. Arden's Smokescreen would be really useful in at least confusing or stalling for time and he needed Clovis's mobility. "Hey, Raven," he said, kneeling down next to his partner. "I'm going to need you to sit out of this one, okay?"

If a Pokémon could swear, she would have been reciting an dictionary's worth of expletives—her expression made that clear. She snapped loudly at him and growled. He put his hands up in defense. "Sorry, but even with all the training we did, you still don't have a good option to fight airborne opponents. I didn't know there was a limit. Seriously."

He could tell she wasn't hearing any of it. She let out a hiss and turned on her own heel, making her way back towards the stands. Her walk was hunched and her sickle bared, and the few spectators she passed before making her way back to Ethan and Lyra shifted as far away from her path as possible. They looked horrified. "I'll make it up to you!" Ciel called after her, before turning back to the Gym Leader.

"Are you ready to begin?" asked the man.

"As I can be," said Ciel as he tapped the button on Arden's capsule and released the excitable Cyndaquil to the field. His opponent did the same, revealing Tenku, his Pidgeotto. Bird and mammal stared each other down, Arden's flames raring at full blast.

Falkner inverbally motioned to the referee. The man raised a green flag high in the air, causing the entire crowd to dampen to a soft murmur. He ceremoniously brought the flag down. "Battle, begin!"

Ciel wasn't wasting any time and called an attack immediately. "Arden, use Ember!"

Falkner's Pidgeotto took flight on instinct and without its Trainer's command, but the quick launch of the projectile grazed its foot before it managed to fully pull itself into the air. The bird shook its singed foot with annoyance.

"Shut it down, Tenku. Tailwind!"

He should have expected the Gym Leader would start with that so quickly. Now was a better time than any to test out their new move.

"Smokescreen," he ordered.

As the Pidgeotto flapped its wings and the winds began to pick up, a flare and a squeak signaled Arden releasing—more like belching—a giant cloud of blackened smoke from his mouth. The generated exhaust, which Ciel could guess was produced inside a Cyndaquil's stomach while its flame sacs were firing, quickly blanketed the arena, obscuring Ciel's vision from both the Gym Leader and his lead fighter. All that Ciel could see was an infinite black. The crowd gasped in surprise, amongst the reactions a motivation cheer from Ethan.

As the smoke cloud stayed relatively stable, he realized that his guess paid off. Tailwind wasn't a concentrated attack but instead the directional circulation of wind. That might have made Arden's bet fail to soar far, but it wasn't powerful enough to move the smoke cloud, or at least not quickly.

"That's a clever trick, Ciel." Falkner's voice echoed around the tower. "But realize that I've fought more Cyndaquils that most people will see in a lifetime. Tenku, use Gust!"

He realized that Smokescreen wouldn't necessarily give him the advantage, especially since neither party could see through the black cloud covering the arena, but it would be useful in buying some time. Relying on his hearing, he heard the Pidgeotto began to flap his wings. He needed to think of something fast.

A thought struck him. He hoped Falkner wouldn't figure it out in time. "Fire Ember in every direction! Absolutely all of them!"

He couldn't see the projectiles as they launched, but one suddenly sprung from the dark cloud and soared right past him on that side of the platform. A few more penetrated the cloud into the tower below, and a few screams told him that he may or may not have aimed a few in the direction of the stands. But none of those mattered.

With a thunderous blow, the Pidgeotto cleared the smoke from the battlefield using a concentrated Gust, sending the cloud in a wave past Ciel and dispersing it around the tower. With the obscuring cloud gone, Falkner had a clear shot.

"Aerial Ace!" shouted Falkner.

"Hold your ground, Arden!" he ordered. "Use Scratch!"

The Pidgeotto dove directly to him, rocketing from his position in the sky like a missile. The move was too fast to dodge. Arden was struck with a lunge from the Pidgeotto's claw, but miraculously the foot-tall creature resisted being knocked back by the powerful blow. He swung back with a swipe from his claws, locking both Pokémon into a fierce melee. Traded blows caused the amassed crowd to cheer.

Above him, a light came into view as it fell. This was his chance. "Arden, out of the way, now!" His Pokémon tucked into a ball and pushed off with his feet, rolling backwards and out of range.

"Use Gust!" called Falkner, trying to again capitalize on the opponent's small size. But, before his Pidgeotto could manage to beat its wings, it was hit. Hard.

During their training last week. Ciel had thought it would be productive to narrow down specific directions for Arden to use Ember. Simple stuff, like left and right, straight forward, diagonal left, diagonal right. Clovis was used as the target, whom he told to just try not to get hit. One of those directions was up. That didn't mean angled upward. It meant straight up.

None of the other Embers were intended to connect, but what goes up must come down. The crowd went wild.

"Tenku!" Falkner shouted as the Pidgeotto was awash in flames from the fallen burning bundle. It struck the bird directly on its wing, leaving substantial burns by the direct contact that were severe enough to force the bird to land.

Wow. He couldn't believe it! He managed to pull that dumb move off!

As Arden and Tenku stared each other down across the ring, the bird looking furious, Falkner gave a soft clap. "I'm… impressed, actually. That was probably the first time I've been genuinely surprised by a challenger in months. You've managed to both get a direct hit and burn my magnificent partner. I suppose my lesson about manipulated senses didn't go unnoticed, since you used the obscuring cloud to prevent me from seeing the Ember until it was out of my periphery."

Ciel felt his cheeks flush in embarrassment, underlined by an iota of pride. He stared across the battlefield and he and Falkner's gazes found each other. The Gym Leader smirked. "I see a passion behind you that wasn't present before. I take it you've found your goal?"

"I have, sir," he announced resolutely. With a fist clenched in front of himself, Ciel remembered the discussion they had by the lake. Start small, with something personal to you. There was nothing more personal to him than wanting to protect his sister like when he was younger. He'd become a legendary Pokémon Trainer for her and use his power to protect everyone he cared about.

"Then keep showing me what you've learned!" Falkner shouted. "Tenku, dash forward and attack!"

His Pokémon screeched its battle cry and shot off across the platform. It was fast! Even grounded, the bird was almost as nimble on its feet as it was in flight, using its long legs to bound. It kept its wings tucked low, apparently unable to use them without irritating the developing burns.

"Arden, get ready. Repeat Scratch!"

The two Pokémon clashed together once again. Arden was finally able to fight on equal ground. The Pidgeotto's claw swung towards his head. His Cyndaquil dodged to the left and followed through with an upwards blow from his claw, catching the larger Pokémon across the chest. However, upon the follow-through, the bird of prey returned its own swipe to Arden's exposed side, the force sending the small creature sliding across the platform towards Ciel. With a leap and a light flutter of its wings, the Piegeotto jumped back to its own side of the platform, though it was clearly exhausted and having difficulties exercising itself through the damage it had taken.

Arden tried to return to its feet to attack but was unable to pull himself off the ground. "Arden, are you okay?" Ciel asked. "Can you keep going?"

With a weak turn of its snout, his Pokémon turned to him and gave a soft squeak of affirmation, before attempting to return to his feet. He had taken a direct Aerial Ace and numerous scratches, not to mention he'd been moving constantly for the past five or so minutes. Even after regaining his bearing and returning to battle position, he was looking exhausted. His flame sacs were firing only weakly.

The referee noticed it as well and spoke up in a loud voice. "Challenger, is your Pokémon fit for battle?"

Despite the insistence, Ciel knew at that point that Arden couldn't go any further. There was no reason to put him through anything else, especially after he'd done so much. "No, sir."

The man nodded and thrust out his yellow flag. "The challenger's Pokémon is unable to battle! Please send out your next Pokémon, challenger."

A tension in his shoulders and a lump in his throat that had built up in the heat of battle disappeared as he walked over. Ciel kneeled by the Pokémon and rubbed Arden on his head. "You did great, buddy. You're way stronger than I realized and I'm glad you were willing to keep going. But you need to take a rest, alright?"

His Pokémon ignited suddenly, affectionately, and he nuzzled against the Trainer's hand with his snout. However, the flames soon died down, and Ciel tapped the button on his capsule to return him to stasis. Due to the conscience displacement, Arden himself would perceive being instantly at the Pokémon Center after Ciel made his way over, so he wouldn't have to live with his exertion very long before he could start to recover.

"You've continued to impress me, Ciel," the Gym Leader complimented, standing behind his own injured Pokémon. "I'm sure a few more moments would have been enough to knock Tenku out of the battle, but you decided to save your Pokémon from hurting itself further even at the cost of your own performance." The man, with his eyes closed and a small smile, said, "caring for your Pokémon's wellbeing is just as important as forging a bond through battle. Unfortunately, I'm forbidden by the league to do the same."

Ciel tossed his other Poké Ball forward and released Clovis to the field. He chirped curiously upon fading into consciousness on the battlefield, looking around the platform and the gathered crowd until he noticed the much larger, older relative standing opposed. Even without the reliable measurement of seeing two in the same evolutionary stage, he could see that Clovis was _tiny_ compared to the rest of his species. He hadn't really noticed before, but seeing his miniscule bird compared to the much larger and grander Pidgeotto really put it into perspective.

That didn't deter Clovis, of course, who issued his challenge in the form of an aggravated screech. The referee chopped down a green flag and the battle again resumed.

"It's grounded, Clovis. Use Quick Attack!" Ciel shouted.

His own Bird Pokémon shot into an attack towards his opponent, tucked in his wings, and ran the Pidgeotto through. Despite his small size, the combined effects of the burn's damage and the larger bird's general exhaustion left it collapsed on the floor of the arena with only a single attack from Clovis. He fluttered back over to Ciel, acting very satisfied despite doing little work.

"Don't get overconfident," he scolded the bird with puffed cheeks. "You haven't even done much yet." Clovis screeched at him. "I hate birds," Ciel said.

"Well, now," Falkner boomed. "You've defeated my first Pokémon and leveled the field, but I can assure you that you're going to be out of your comfort zone now. You'd only be able to practice based on what Pokémon you were expecting, but I've got a little surprise." As he brandished a second capsule, a disturbingly confident smile crossed the Gym Leader's face. His features seemed to be outlined in shadow. "You aren't the only one with an exotic Pokémon."

"What? What do you mean?" Ciel stammered, thrown off guard by the sudden change in demeanor of the man.

"Archen! Prepare for battle!" the man shouted, hurling a black and yellow object skyward. It exploded into a beam that formed midair. What was contained wasn't particularly intimidating, but the flying creature revealed was completely unknown to him. Red, blue, yellow, its body was a myriad of bright colors with an oversized, toothed beak. It looked downright weird.

The referee struck down the green flag again.

"Archen, use Rock Throw!"

In a stunningly disgusting display, the odd bird opened its mouth as wide a possible, gagged, and a softball sized rock hurtled out a high speed.

"Dodge it!" Ciel commanded.

Clovis snapped back into the air and deftly fluttered away from the trajectory of the rock, which slammed into the floor in broken shards. That thing was a Rock-type? Or, at least, it used Rock-type moves. And that was bad. Flying types tended to be susceptible to Rock moves because of how weak wing structures are in comparison to other types of appendages.

He needed to warn his Pokémon. "Clovis, you can't get hit by that. It'll be devastating." He hoped the Pokémon fully understood his words, but he doubted it.

Without command, the bizarre bird fell into a nosedive directly at Clovis, screeching on its way down. Clovis beat his wings hard and threw himself in a random direction to avoid being hit as the screeching missile soared past him and struck the floor of the arena. Ciel realized this left an opening.

"Dive and use Tackle!" he called. The Gym Leader was suspiciously silent.

Clovis tucked in his wings and bore his beak once again, streaking across the tower over the platform towards his opponent. However, Ciel realized too late that it wasn't just an opening. It was a trap.

"Wait, Clovis, hold on-"

He was cut off by the Gym Leader's own command. "Rock Throw!"

It was too late for Clovis to cancel his momentum and dodge. With another retch, the Archen launched a rock directly at the Pidgey. A veritable boulder for a Pokémon his size collided with his head. Clovis was knocked clean out of the sky and landed painfully on the platform, but luckily the bird was still conscious despite the clear damage.

Ciel wanted to slap himself. Here he was, warning his team member of the dangerous situation, but he ended up leading Clovis right into danger. They couldn't just attack from the front; they needed a strategy.

But how the hell was he supposed to beat a Pokémon like this that he'd never seen before? It didn't help that one of Clovis's moves, Sand Attack, wasn't feasible due to the terrain. The platform was a giant hanging slap of wood with nothing easy to kick up. Unless...

Ciel's eyes scanned around and noticed pieces of the earlier rock that had scattered upon impact when the lobbed projectile hit the base of the platform. Would it work? It wasn't as fine as actual sand, but it was worth a shot.

"I see you're struggling, Trainer. You weren't prepared to face a Pokémon you hadn't encountered before," Falkner taunted. He shoved his arm out and issued another command. "Use Rock Throw again!"

He supposed spamming super-effective moves was a viable strategy in this matchup, but it was starting to annoy him. He only had one shot to counter, so he had to hope Clovis could make it count. The Pidgey had managed to pick himself up but clearly remained dazed by the impact.

"Clovis, I need you to use Sand Attack," he said.

The bird stared at him, puzzled, before he too realized the broken chunks available to him on the arena. Another retching sound told them that they had little time to react, but Ciel clenched his fist and hoped this would work. Clovis grabbed a collection of fragments in one of his talons and threw them across the arena towards the opponent.

Like throwing stars, the sharp pieces of the Archen's own attack peppered its body. Lightly, but just enough. It flinched as the pieces struck and the projectile barrelling up its throat misfired heavily and shattered against the battlefield floor.

"Tackle!" Ciel shouted.

This time, the attack wasn't interrupted, and despite the Gym Leader calling for his Pokémon to retaliate before Clovis could close in, the Tackle hit home as Clovis slammed his body into his larger opponent. The toothed bird wailed in pain, flailing its wings wildly and managing to take flight. Clovis hovered in wait.

Falkner let out a loud sigh. "I suppose we should wrap this up. As much fun as this has been, I'd say this match has all but concluded, Ciel."

"What do you mean?" the young Trainer asked. "The battle isn't over yet."

Falkner threw out his arm. "Ancient Power."

The rocks fragments, just as he had used before, began to levitate around the arena into the sky. The Archen was coated in a faint pink glow, one that matched the odd energy surrounding the debris. He looked left. Then right. It was just like Pryce had done, but this time the rocks we're smaller. There were simply too many small fragments to dodge. In that moment, he knew there was nothing either of them could do. Every single piece converged at once on Clovis.

Clovis cried in pain and fell unconscious to the floor of the arena, scratched, scuffled, and beaten. After seeing a blue flag and the announcement that the Gym Leader was the victor, Ciel picked up Clovis and held the poor bird close as he recalled him to his Poké Ball. By then, Ethan, Lyra, and Raven had rushed amidst the cheers of the crowd for the Gym Leader's victory to see to their friend. Ethan was gushing about how cool the battle looked, while Lyra herself was impressed in a tamer way.

Ciel stood up, defeated, to meet the Gym Leader as he approached their group. "That was an excellent battle."

"I lost," Ciel said, dejectedly. He hadn't expected a victory in his first match and wasn't disappointed, but this time he'd held a genuine chance. And he blew it.

"And yet you managed to genuinely deceive me and used effectively creative battle tactics. You even managed to put up a fight against one of my father's own cherished bird Pokémon."

"The Archen is your father's?" Ciel asked.

"Yes. An import from Unova that he recently added to his aviary. He loaned the Pokémon to me to help train it up to evolve."

Ciel once again forked over some of his sparse cash, holding out a stack of bills to the Gym Leader. The man took the Pokédollars from his hand, but he left a small item. A hexagon shape with a cut. Ciel's eyes widened. "This is…"

"The Zephyr Badge. Your proof of conquering my Gym."

He was nearly speechless. "But I didn't even beat you in battle."

"That's not the point. The Pokémon League gives us discretion to decide who among their challengers are worthy of receiving the badge. You didn't beat me, yes, but you showed substantial improvement in a short amount of time, indicating how willing you are to apply yourself." Falkner looked him straight in the eye. "I'm don't _expect_ people to beat me. I'm the third-ranked Gym Leader in the region. Well, second now, since Pryce retired."

He clenched his fist around the small object, elated beyond description at knowing that he'd succeeded. "Thank you, sir. I'll cherish this."

"Oh, phew!" Ethan exclaimed. "You mean I don't even have to beat the guy? That's a relief. I was starting to believe I'd have to give effort."

Lyra slapped him upside the head. "You're an idiot," she announced.

Falkner turned away from their group and began to walk back to his side of the arena, ready to return to his role. However, he stopped short, and with his back turn he addressed Ciel. "Don't consider this a consolation. It's a steppingstone. Once you start getting more and more badges, the other Gym Leaders won't give you the same courtesy to hold back."

The man turned his head. "Keep chasing your goal, whatever it may be. You'll be surprised how far it will take you."

As the air swirled in the tower of the Violet Gym, Ciel felt the flame he'd lit start to grow, fed by the wind of a first challenge. It had the potential to blow him out, but he'd pushed back hard enough to grow.

"Hey, Ciel," Ethan said, trying to catch his attention. "Lyra and I were going to eat out for dinner tonight. Want to come?"

He affirmed, but then thought for a moment. "I'm down. But I've got to do something first, if you don't mind. I'll catch up with you."

* * *

As the screen powered on, the face of his mother shined brightly in the private video booth he sat in. He'd opted against using one of the public monitors this time, even if it had meant waiting for a vacancy.

"Hey, mom," he greeted with a smile.

" _Ciel! How did your Gym Battle go?"_

He held up the Zephyr Badge. The sheer pride that ran through the woman's face in that moment was enough to make him feel a bit fuzzy inside. He was grinning from ear-to-ear.

" _That's amazing, honey! Tell me, how did it go? What did you fight against? Are your Pokémon okay?"_ She began rattling off questions, nearly too fast for him to catch.

Raven, who was laying across the seat and his lap, had mostly forgiven him for excluding her from the previous battle. Arden and Clovis were with the nurses, making sure that they had no permanent injuries and they were back to peak condition as soon as possible. He'd planned bring his team along when he went out with Ethan and Lyra so that everyone could get a reward for working so hard and conquering the Gym. Then they'd just rest a while.

"Actually," he began, "do you mind waiting a bit?"

" _Why? What's the matter?"_ his mother asked.

"Could you put? Laina on the phone? I'd like to talk to her for a bit."

" _Oh."_ She chuckled. _"Of course, dear."_

When his sister finally greeted him through the camera, he started off immediately on what he'd done and seen in the month since leaving home. He ended up speaking to his sister for three hours, having forgotten how much he missed her company.

* * *

 **I'm banking on the reader not realizing during their initial read that Falkner claiming he would only allow two Pokémon for brevity is just me not wanting to write a three-on-three battle scene. Battles are already lengthy enough as it is. By the time any of these characters get to having a full party, I'm going to have hell on my hands.**

 **It's no surprise that I missed my two-week deadline, given that I've spent a large portion of my standard "writing time" recently playing Pokémon Let's Go, Eevee! I'm honestly surprised at how much I'm enjoying the game despite how much the marketing seemed to imply that the game was not meant for long-time fans. Ironically, where I thought the lack of key features would pull away from the deeper experience, it actually just brings back a focus on relaxing adventure. Plus, it's cool to know that it's feasible to "catch them all" again, at least within the confines of this one game. I'd give it a solid 7.5/10. It really does a good job of capturing the raw essence of Pokémon without any bells and whistles attached, so pick it up if that interests you.**

 **With this chapter completed, we are essentially finished the first main "story arc" of Anew. Technically, in my planning, the first story arc is the first sixteen chapters, but it just so happened that in practice it seemed like the story naturally broke itself up into units as I worked out character development for these early chapters, leaving the end of this chapter as a good starting point now that the two original characters have been established and built. These next few chapters will focus primarily on Team Rocket and Silver, and by extension Ethan and Lyra, so stay tuned if you want to see more of their antics. I know I do. Ethan annoying Lyra is a joy to write and hopefully to read as well.**

 **This chapter has started arising concerns about whether or not I'm being repetitive in my verbiage, especially in drawn-out battle scenes like the one here. While I've tried to diversify my language, it can sometimes be difficult for me to focus on that while also being coherent and spatially aware, and there are only so many verbs I can choose for a specific action. I'd love to hear some readers thoughts on if they feel like the immersion was ever broken and if my language suffered in some places.**

 **As a final note, I've started putting chapter updates on my profile. It's not much, usually just an estimated completion percentage, but I may put more information if necessary.**

 **As always, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I'll see you next time for Chapter 8: The Great Cave Offensive!**


	8. The Great Cave Offensive

**This story is co-developed by Titan127.**

 **Disclaimer: Pokémon is a registered property of Nintendo, the Pokémon Company, and GameFreak. This work respectfully uses the world and characters of the Pokémon series, with no intent of harm on the original creators. Please support the official releases of the Pokémon franchise.**

 **This chapter contains a surprising amount of gore and an incomprehensible accent. You have been warned.**

 **Chapter 8: The Great Cave Offensive (5,524 words)**

* * *

"Come on! Keep it moving, people. We don't have all day," Proton shouted. His voice echoed around the damp cave. The grunts he was assigned sped up their operation of extracting and transporting the tails of all the Slowpoke they could find. Wheelbarrows were loaded up with bloodied pink appendages and carted away towards the entrance of the well to be loaded up onto some waiting vehicles and shipped off.

He found it hard to believe that the dinky old well in the village held such a cave this large. Really, it was impossible to believe. With all the open space inside the cave, it meant that the well couldn't fill due to the lack of pressure to draw water upward. The dumbass villagers must have decided to "excavate" a well without understanding that the aquifer couldn't supply, meaning that the only way to bring the village water was to venture down with buckets. Some old folktales implied that the Slowpoke using Rain Dance brought water to the village, but he wasn't sucker enough to believe that.

Ugh. And that rancid smell. He felt his nose wrinkling so heavily it may as well have retracted inside his face. Droppings, mould, and even worse, the regular odor of Slowpoke. He was lucky the spring season was killing his sinuses or else he wouldn't have been able to bear it. As much as he tried to brush it off, the smell of death was getting to him.

A flash of metal brought his attention as one of the grunts brought down a cleaver. Proton clenched his eyes shut and looked away as the resulting howl harrowed his insides. He shuddered. When he finally found the courage to open back up, the Slowpoke was lying prostrate on the ground, the stump pooling blood behind it. Its plump pink body was shaking. Whimpering. Dying.

"Is someone getting _queasy_?" a sing-song voice taunted him from behind.

He turned around to come face-to-face with the someone he'd been trying to avoid. That scary-ass smile never failed make his neck hairs stand on end. He ignored her, but she hovered around him like a city Pidgey that was getting too curious about the food he was eating.

"Of course not. I'd just rather be in the comfort of a dark room and a computer," he defended.

"You can't lie to me," she said, staring him down with those sharp, piercing eyes. "I can sense how much you hate this. All the slaughtering."

He caved and sighed. "Just… doesn't this bother you at all? What we're doing?"

She said nothing. All Proton got in response was her smile creeping larger across her face that disturbed him even further. "You're a fucking psychopath, you know that?"

The woman giggled. "You're funny, you know that?"

"Who even are you?" he asked. "The Boss called you, what, her 'secret weapon?' What is it you even do?"

"I cause chaos. Simple as that."

He raised an eyebrow. "You act like that explains anything, given what we do for a living. All of us are 'watch the world burn' types. You've gotta be much more specific."

"I cause chaos because Master wants me to," she chirped. It was sickeningly gleeful.

Who the hell refers to Ariana as "Master?" Was this some weird BDSM thing he didn't know about? And here he though she and Giovanni had a thing before. That was the whole reason she was making an effort to put the Rockets back in the spotlight—she was following his example. That was the word around the base, anyway.

A grunt wheeled past him with a wheelbarrow loaded with tails in a massive mound. The lackey looked for his approval and Proton nodded. He carried away the next load to be shipped. The echoes of pained cries continued around him, bouncing hauntingly around the walls of the cave.

"I don't think we were ever properly introduced. Call me Sird," the dangerous-seeming woman said.

"I'm Proton. That your real name?" he asked, confused as to why she'd introduce herself like that. "We're not supposed to use anything besides our codenames. Yours is Vampire."

"Oh, it's fine. Not like you'll tell anyone, little boy."

He winced at the diminutive reference. Simple as it was, it struck a bit of anger in him. "Oh yeah? And how do you know that, lady?"

He felt himself go white as the smile widened again. "You're Tomo Yoshinaga, an undergraduate student at Goldenrod University. You live on 1202 North Madeia Street, in apartment number 331B, living alone with two Meowth. You sleep in a twin bed with bright green sheets, and there are three band posters hanging on the opposite wall."

He said nothing and only clenched his fists at his sides, feeling a deepening mix of both frustration and fear. "How could you—"

She cut him off. "It'd be so easy to just sneak in, in the middle of the night, and just _snap_ that lovely little neck of yours if my name so much as passes your lips." She traced a fingernail gently down his spine while he was frozen, bringing back shudders. "And I'll know. Even if you whisper it to yourself in some far Region, I'll be there." She once again giggled, and this time he realized it was purely a sinister sound. Meant to divert expectations and force people to drop their guard.

She finally decided she'd had enough fun with him and sauntered away further into the cave, leaving him petrified. He stood silently to the serenade of screams, cuts, and working machinery, as the inside of the cave lit up with criminal enterprise. Once she was out of view, he slowly pulled his cap down over his eyes and leaned against a nearby rock formation. He was beginning to wonder why he'd even gotten involved with this. Was a life of lies and threats really what we wanted? He was never even sure when he started.

* * *

Ciel's eyes widened in amazement as he took in the massive structure hanging above him. While traveling down Route 32 from Violet City, it had been nothing but verdant hills and minor brush. When he found himself crossing a bridge connecting two ends of a seaside bay, however, the shadowing magnet train rail revealed itself. Its metal pylons extended below into the water to support four different high-tech tracks. The young Trainer was lucky enough to witnesses, if only for a second, one of the modern passenger vehicles zipping past him at an impossible speed.

Raven was disinterested, of course, so he quit his staring at followed his partner across the rest of the bridge. Ciel stared at the sea and followed the distant waves with his vision. Not much else occurred for a while after that

It was pleasantly surprising how easy the hike had been so far, by then five days from Violet City. Taking the plunge and crossing Route 29 that first time had really prepared Ciel for endurance walks, both physically and mentally. Plus, he'd reminded himself to overpack food when he left the city, and looking through his supplies, he was confident that he wouldn't run out anytime soon.

Of course, there were an overabundance of wilds he had to deal with. As he passed under a tree while passing through some woods, an ovular creature dropped from the canopy and landed in front of them on the forest path. A Pineco, disturbed by their passage underneath its hanging spot, jumped forward to attack.

"Raven, dodge and use Bite!" he called.

His partner skillfully dodged the Bug-type's Tackle, sinking her teeth into its side as it flew past her. She tossed the opponent away, where it began hopping back and forth defensively.

"Quick Attack!" he ordered.

A lightning-fast jab struck out and tore into the wild Pokémon's side. However, it seemed to be waiting for this moment and its cone-like body began to darken. Its scales suddenly launched out in multiple directions, one of them clipping Raven across the face. She growled savagely in response.

To his surprise, something new happened. Raven's entire body flashed red as an unknown energy surged through her. She sprung forward and slashed her opponent across the front, sending the cone-like creature into the dirt with an unusually powerful strike.

"What in the world was that?" he asked as she inspected the unconscious body of the opponent. She gave it a few curious sniffs until she lost interest and began further into the forest. Not wanting the Pokémon to fall prey to something else, especially since they were technically in the wrong by encroaching on its territory, Ciel handled the vaguely prickly, vaguely uncomfortable creature and managed to nestle it up on branch. As they proceeded through the forested area they were traversing, he pulled out his notebook and jotted down the occurrence.

 _Suddenly becomes more powerful when hit by certain attacks?_ _I don't know what move was used, but it was a counter-type attack. More research needed._

He closed the notebook ceremoniously, stuck it back into his duffle, and continued.

His partner was his only active Pokémon for the time being, and only partly by choice. The nurses at the Pokémon Center in Violet informed him not to have Clovis active whenever they were traveling for a while, as the blow he took to the head from Falkner's Archen may have caused a minor concussion. It was nothing bad, but it meant that his Pidgey wouldn't be out of his capsule if the situation called for exertion. He did sub Arden occasion to get in some training, and he'd encountered and challenged another Trainer at one point, so most of his team was progressing and the other pillar was taking a well-earned break.

While he'd been content to continue pitching his tent as they made their way further south down Route 29, Ciel was relieved when he came upon the first major sign of civilization since the Magnet Train rail: a wide Mareep ranch. Sitting atop the hills was a small cabin home next to some barns, with the entire estate surrounded by grazing fields for countless Mareep. Ciel could see the bluish-colored rock of some nearby mountains rising in the distance, which he assumed was where Union Cave, his next destination, was located.

The proprietor of the ranch, a woman named Ellen, seemed more than happy to accommodate him for a night, and even had a spare guest room prepared for such an occasion. She explained that Trainers regularly stopped at her ranch on their way down the route and gave it some surprising popularity. It was even featured in a popular TV show, which Ellen was ecstatic to remind him about more than twice. Still, the hospitality was much appreciated, and he and his team relaxed for the night.

* * *

Tourist pictures, media, and every other description of caves didn't properly prepare him for how dark it was. As he felt his way through the cave, he realized it was only logical that no natural light would filter down that far below ground, but not working that out before he dove left him disoriented. He waved a burning torch around, casting light on the assorted rock formations. Arden had lit the torch for him as a substitute for the Cyndaquil himself.

"Hello?" he shouted. Ciel counted the echoes. At least six audible. "How deep am I?" he asked to no one. Though it was a fat chance, he'd hoped that he'd encounter some human life in the cave to help him navigate. Guess not.

The torch only illuminated a limited radius around his person, so he was relying on Raven's senses. Her species were reportedly found atop mountains and in mountain caves and it reflected in how naturally the Absol moved along the rocky floor, steering around large formations that Ciel couldn't see until they were a meter away. Her night vision was coming in handy.

They came upon a sign with a large arrow. A few of them had been scattered along the path previously and provided a rough direction through the underground tunnels. Union Cave was the only reliable way through the mountains to reach Azalea Town, so he trusted the land's directions to lead them out of the cave in no time.

No time turned into lots of time. A week, in fact.

Ciel wasn't even sure if that date was correct, as he'd quickly become so disoriented that it was difficult to tell which was up. He was having trouble recognizing his own sense of self due to the lack of light making one of his senses useless. His boot splashed into a puddle of water, and he held the dying torch in that direction, revealing an underground lake. He'd make sure to steer clear. The interior of the cave continued cramping further, and more than once he'd cut his face on an outcropping or stalactite he couldn't see. The signs supposedly pointing him in the right direction were long gone.

His torch was beginning to burn out for that day, but that led him to another problem. He tapped the button on Arden's capsule repeatedly to no avail. The mechanism would pop the ball open, but the materializing beam wouldn't fire. He found himself repeatedly triggering the mechanism and then closing it again, providing a tactile distraction to keep his mind off the fact that he was hopelessly lost. Why couldn't he release Arden, even though he'd been able to do it before? Without a source of light, he might never make it out of the cave.

He didn't usually panic, but this brought back memories of the strange dream he had inside the Ruins of Alph. Down in those catacombs, he was surrounded by an unexplainable feeling of loss and dread, and here, he was beginning to feel… helpless. The same kind of fear of being lost and alone. It was starting to get to him, as was his physical condition.

Constant coughing told him that there wasn't nearly enough oxygen within the depths of the cave as he moved. His clothing, revealed under the dying light of the torch, was covered in dust, as likely was his hair and skin. Plus, he wasn't feeling too great without having had a "proper" meal in a few weeks, but he was surviving. There was enough food with him to last at least another week—Ellen had given him some canned foods alongside a portable stove and some cans of methanol gel, almost all of which was Devon branded. The Devon Corporation made really high-quality outdoor gear for Trainers, among other things like certain Poké Ball varieties licensed from the Pokémon League. So, that gave him time to find his way out. _If_ he found a way out.

After deciding that he wouldn't make any more progress that day—or night, he couldn't tell anymore—he felt around for an open spot and sat down to look through his duffle. Raven realized curled up next to him when she realized he'd stopped moving. The Trainer gently stroked his partner's back, which gave him some needed stress relief. He took a deep breath and began unpacking his food supplies to prep a meal.

Using one of a sparse supply of matches, the fuel canister lit up, and he poured out a canned dinner into a pan. The blue flame from the can increased his visibility a bit, and he tried to rekindle the torch, but to no avail. The wood was too far gone. He considered busting out his emergency flashlight, but he wasn't sure how long its batteries would last in constant use and he wanted to save the extras in his bag. Ciel stirred the barely lit dinner, a fatty combination of mystery meat, potatoes, and other assorted veggies in a congealed broth. He left it to simmer for a while.

"I'm not sure where we're going, girl," he absentmindedly told his partner. "Sorry I messed up. I should have found someone familiar with the cave before we moved through here."

Without any bowls, he left the pan on the stove and began eating directly from it, occasionally holding out a spoonful for his partner. It tasted mostly of salt, and while the fatty concoction was hardly a proper meal, it wasn't altogether unpleasant. Ciel left the fuel can burning and hoped that no wild Pokémon were interested in their campsite. He'd already encountered enough Zubats and Geodudes for a lifetime.

As he was about to lie down to sleep and hope they could find an exit over the next day or two, he became aware of movement. Loud, dangerous movement. He and his partner both shot up to ready position and cast their eyes into the darkness. Raven, with her better vision, bared her teeth and sickle at whatever was approaching far before he could even realize what it was. A breath held itself in the back of his throat.

"Yuse Flahsh!" a voice shouted.

The entire cave was suddenly engulfed in light as rays from a new source shone like a sun in front of him. It was abnormally bright and Ciel was forced to hold his arm to his face to shield his eyes. For how long he'd been in darkness, it was a visual whiplash to be spontaneously hit with such a brilliant burst.

"Oi knew Oi had 'eard sumone down 'ere," someone said in a heavily accented voice. He heard a loud, jovial laugh in front of him, and as his eyes slowly acclimated to the new light source, Ciel pulled his arm below his eyes to see the person that had arrived. It was a behemoth of a bearded man in hiking gear, wearing a jacket and a sporty hat. His form was… bulbous.

"Who are you?" Ciel asked, still somewhat apprehensive.

"Oi'm jus' a traveleh who lives 'round dese 'ere pahts. Mah name's Russel. Mos' jus' call me Crag."

"I'm Ciel," he offered. "Wait, you live down here? As in, you _live_ here?"

"Yea!" he exclaimed. "Oi've gotten ah cabin up on dah surface, but Oi mohstly spend me toime down 'ere with me Pokaymon."

Ciel was having trouble understanding the man, but he could clearly hear the word 'Pokémon'. Speaking of, the source of the light was a large creature of rock with four arms extending from its round, fragmented body. The Graveler had used the move Flash and was currently emitting some weird bioluminescence that shone like a lightbulb. Either way, he found himself happy to see the two. Raven walked up to and exchanged glances with the other Pokémon. They must have come to a silent agreement because his Absol was back at his side soon after.

Ciel offered the man the remains of he and his partner's meal, to which the man gave a hearty thanks and downed the remainder of the canned dinner in one gulp. "Tha' hit dah spot!" exclaimed Crag, who rubbed his stomach exaggeratedly. The man sat down across from Ciel.

"If you live down here, you must know these caves pretty well, right?" Ciel asked. "I think I'm lost, and I can't seem to call any of my other Pokémon from their Poké Balls. Sorry to bother you about this, Russ— err, Crag, but could you help me out?"

"Course ah can! Dat's what Oi do!" He laughed another bellowing, jubilant laugh. "If ya fallow me fer a whoile, 'ou'll be ou' in no toime."

Ciel gave a sigh of relief. This was the second time he'd chanced upon a stranger to help him through the wilds, and he couldn't be anymore grateful for it. Plus, it made the cave a bit less isolating. It was clear as Ciel watched the giant man yuck it up that he was a friendly guy, with his strange demeanor and accent only making him more approachable.

"And, jus' for da recahd," the man began again, "ya can get sum trooble wit yer Pokay Balls when ya get real far down. It's dat, err, broadband! Dem balls got that powahful internet wit yer computer tah send Pokeyman back 'n ferth, 'cauze dey ain't actually in da balls all da toime. Fer safety! But it ain't too great when yer too fahr down an away from da towahs."

"Really?" Ciel asked, pulling out Arden's capsule and rolling it over in his hand. He assumed that Pokémon were stored in the Poké Balls when you registered a party, but if what Crag said was correct, all of his non-active Pokémon were always in the PC. Really, that did make sense. If you accidentally stepped on a crushed a Poké Ball, a Pokémon didn't die, since it wasn't really in the Poké Ball to begin with. The capsules were just a connector between the PC and reality.

Still, it wasn't very helpful if his Poké Balls couldn't connect, but with Crag's Graveler lighting up the area around them, Ciel figured that he wouldn't need Arden until they surfaced. He packed up his temporary campsite. "Hey, Crag, if you're willing, could we head out? I've been down here too long already."

"Roight now? I gess so, but da ya moind waitin' a tad? Oi'm on da lookout fer some rare Pokaymon."

"Rare Pokémon?" he returned, hoping he was hearing right.

"Year. Come wit me for ah bit if 'ou'd like."

And so, Ciel and Raven found themselves following the odd, nearly incomprehensible stranger named Crag through the depths of Union Cave. The man regularly stopped to examine things on the floor, guided by his walking lantern, making note of strange markings or paths otherwise imperceptible to Ciel. Whether they were going deeper into the cave or making their way towards some exit was up in the air.

"D'y'ear dat?" Crag asked in a voice that slurred nearly the entire phrase together.

"Uhh, no," Ciel said before attempting to tune his hearing to whatever the man had noticed. "Is something happening?"

"Oiyea, sumthins' happenin a'roight. Jus' listen." The man suddenly gripped a nearby rock and pressed his head and ear to the piece of earth. It was an undoubtedly odd display and even his own Graveler acted somewhat confused. He and the living lamp shared a look before Crag sprung from the rock and began racing down the cave.

"Hey, wait a moment!" he called before breaking into a sprint to tail the surprisingly adept hiker. Raven and his Graveler broke off as well to follow the man. Fearing that he'd lose his only ticket out of the cave, Ciel tried his best to keep up along whatever trail they were supposedly following. Then he began to hear stomping, loud stomping, and knew they were getting close to wherever they were going.

Crag suddenly stopped in his movement and held back, forcing Ciel to backpedal as he nearly overshot the man. He looked around, not sure what they were looking at. In front of them just looked like complete darkness, even with the Graveler's Flash shining around the cave.

"What are we looking for?" Ciel asked. The stomping was painfully audible, but he could still see nothing."

"Git over 'ere and see fer yerself," the man offered.

Ciel peered past him into the darkness of the cave, which had opened slightly from the narrow passages they had been navigating before. He squinted his eyes in, trying to look for anything of note. Suddenly, two bodies charged from the sides of his vision and savagely met in the middle. With horns locked and teeth bared, two Rhyhorn wrestled for control of each other in a test of strength. Each made a push against their opponent, trying to knock them away and prove their superiority, but they were caught in a deadlock. Neither was able to move the other unbreakable creature.

Raven bared her sickle and fell into a battle position, ready to defend if either of the Rhyhorn came after them. Their stalemate ended as Ciel heard a sickening crack. The armor surrounding one of the Rhyhorn's horn shattered and its opponent seized the opportunity to throw it to the ground. The victor roared triumphantly.

Ciel realized that those two weren't alone. The masses of stomping they had heard were veritable hordes of the armored, bipedal Pokémon standing on opposite sides of the cave like two opposing military forces at war, ready to charge. Among the Rhyhorn were even larger creatures that stood tall on massive legs, exposed bellies revealing a reptilian form, with drill-like structures crowning their large heads. The leaders of each pack. Rhydon.

"Now ya see roight 'ere," Crag whispered, keeping back, "dese Rhyhorn are rare 'round dese parts. Ya gotta git real deep in da cave to foind 'em. And roight 'ere is a battle fer territree between two of 'em social units. Oooh! Dey're goin at it!"

The Rhydon roared, the forces collided, plates flew, and blood was spilled. Ciel could feel the repeated impacts of the powerful Pokémon slamming into each other and throwing opponents around, trying to gain the upper hand and stake their claim to this part of the cave. They seemed to ignore the onlookers, even though the Graveler's glowing body very clearly gave them away. One Rhyhorn bit down and took a chunk out of another. That group's Rhydon screamed in anger and retaliated, ramming its horn into the attacker and tossing it against the far wall of the cave, where it laid motionless.

Ciel felt a breathing down his neck and slowly turned his head to face an excited Crag. "D'y'wanna catch ona 'em?" he asked with childlike excitement.

Looking back at the carnage, Ciel felt like he wasn't in the mood to get gutted. "I think I'll pass."

"Aww, yer no fun. Still, ya gotta look out fer da personalitee in 'em Pokaymon out dere. Look a'dat feisty guy roight dere." The man pointed to a Rhyhorn that was wildly flailing at any attackers, not letting them inside its sphere. The defensive gesture was wild and uncoordinated, but it had gone undefeated since the battle broke out. "Dat one's prolly ah real beaut of ah powahouse, but it wouldn'ta listen ta ya. Or dat one, wit its horn out an runnin' 'round picken 'em off." As he said, another Rhyhorn skirted around the edge of the battlefield and prodded others already distracted in a brawl, acting much more mindfully, and as a result it hadn't taken much damage. "Dey can be more agile 'n smaht dan dey look."

Despite the real pain a lot of the wild Pokémon seemed to be in, Ciel found himself captivated by the dynamic of it, unable to turn away. This was the kind of act that inspired battle between trained Pokémon, and the reason why Pokémon were inclined to fight. The creatures had positive biological responses to social relationships and combat, it his memory served, such as releasing growth hormones and strengthening the immune system. As teams, they were growing and learning for each side's benefit. The Rhyhorn were putting a lot of emphasis on a team effort, with allies of one clan covering each other's sides, charging as a group, and even blocking blows for them.

One specifically caught his eye, however. A small one, most likely a younger Rhyhorn that hadn't reached full maturity. It was cowering behind its clan leader, relying on the protection of its older brethren. The size difference reminded him of Clovis's small stature, so perhaps that's why his attention was drawn to it.

A sickening crunch made him cringe as one of the Rhydon rammed its drill-like horn directly into the belly of the other. It tried to fight back, but the injury seemed devastating, and what measly claw swipes it could throw didn't stop its opponent from running it through to the wall of the cave. The victorious Rhydon roared as it withdrew and then brandished the blood-covered horn. As if the moral of the group was shattered, the side of the defeated Rhydon soon fell as they were overpowered. Each Rhyhorn was charged, bitten, scratched, stabbed, and nearly all of them conceded defeat to the superior family.

Except for one.

While the Rhydon was injured against the wall and its unevolved pack laid defeated on the cave floor, the young Rhyhorn barked up. It growled and bared its own horn, stepping forward to issue a challenge. It angled itself to the side so that its body could block as wide as it allowed to defend its fallen comrades against further attack. Even as the victorious Rhydon stood ominously above the runt, its courage never faded. Even as its scales shattered when a giant strike from the Rhydon's horn pierced its side, it stood back up and continued growling through the pain. It would protect its friends even at the cost of its own life. One final hit sent it to the ground, where it stayed down along with its pack.

"That one," said Ciel.

"Wha?" Crag seemed confused. "Da lil one? It's got ah big 'eart but it ain't near as strong as dey come. An is injured now."

"It's not about power. That Pokémon is exactly who I want to be. I want to be strong enough to protect people I care about, and it's throwing everything it has even though it knows it can't win because protecting comes first."

The man seemed to silently agree, and the two Trainers watched the battleground clear out. Victorious, the winning Rhydon led its Rhyhorn away from the unmoving bodies of the others. The message was clear that the territory belonged to the victors, and those of the losers that could move began dragging away other members of their clan that were too weak to stand. Even the losing Rhydon managed to stand and sulk off despite the gaping wound in its stomach. Ciel assumed the worst, that those that weren't moving and weren't being carried off were dead. When the area was finally clear, Crag moved to check out the scene.

"Now dat was some roight powahful stuff. Ain't dat kin'a display jus marvelous, ah real example of da natural world? Oi can' balieve how extraordinary da' was!" The man examined the bodies of some of the fallen Rhyhorn, as did his partner, who sniffed them with a vague curiosity. She even tried taking a bite out of one of them but found their shells too hard. Yuck, he thought.

Ciel stood over the young Rhyhorn, seeing that it was seeping blood and numerous plates were missing. But it was alive. Even among its larger clan members, it had somehow survived a direct attack from the enemy Rhydon, but it had been left behind. Maybe its clan assumed it had died.

The Trainer kneeled next to the creature, who weakly bared its teeth.

"You're pretty amazing, you know that?" Ciel told the Pokémon, knowing that it probably couldn't understand his speech.

"Bettah be cahful, it moight bite ya," Crag told him as he hovered over the two. "Depens on how it loikes ya. Speakin' from exparience."

Ciel offered its hand out to the creature, which had managed to flop over onto its stomach. "You looked like you really wanted to protect your friends. Why don't you come with me?" he asked, smiling down at the Pokémon. "I can help you get stronger, and then we can protect everyone together."

Whether or not his words were heard was irrelevant. The Rhyhorn hesitantly sniffed the Trainer's hand, and with a bit of wariness himself, Ciel placed his palm on the rocky creature's head. It seemed calm, at peace.

He pressed a Poké Ball against it, and miraculously the capsule engulfed the Pokémon in a red glow. It faltered a bit, and the light seemed to flicker, but in an instant, the Rhyhorn had disappeared. Ciel held the Poké Ball tightly in front of himself.

"Welcome to the team. I think I'll call you Hector."

"I tought ya wasn' gonna catch ah Pokaymon?" Crag said.

"I thought so too. I guess I just liked that one."

"Well, Oi can take ya oit of dis here cave now. Gotta bit distracted meself." The man laughed loudly at himself. "'s jus' a few hours to Aza'ea Tahn, ah tink."

"Right," Ciel said, making sure he had everything in order as he stashed the new Poké Ball into his bag. Raven stood at his side, obviously just as ready to be out of the cave. "Ready when you are, Crag. We need to get this Rhyhorn to a Pokémon Center."

"Ya know, yer'n interestin' kid. Yer a Trainer, roight? Tell me a bit more 'bout dat, will ya?"

Crag and his Graveler led the two the rest of the way through the cave. The interesting man had interesting stories to tell, and he could tell they were getting closer and closer to some kind of end to the dark passageways he'd been stuck in for a week. A new party member and a new friend, both in a single day? Getting lost hadn't been so bad.

* * *

 **Happy holiday season to those who celebrate the assorted December holidays! I've been more into the seasonal fun this year than usual, so I wish everyone some good cheer and hope they've had a fun 2018 so far!**

 **Finals week was a cakewalk for me, so I've been free to do whatever it is I want, really. I've been on a bit of an art binge and have spent a lot more time drawing than writing recently, but because this chapter returns to my standard length of 5,000 words, it's not so taxing and time-consuming.**

 **I've been excited to write this chapter for a while. While the opening scene is part of the actual plot, the remainder is just some adventure fun, which is something this story has been lacking in for about five chapters. I'm very much inclined towards the concept of "strategic filler" to keep the pacing interesting and to give a bit of rest after primary plot points, which in this case involved lots of action scenes and character bits alongside the Gym battles. Plus, Crag is a fun character to write. Halfway between Steve Irwin, Hagrid, and the Swamp Shooting Gallery Operator from Majora's Mask. I don't actually remember what the initial pitch for his character was or why I'd decided to expand upon a singular NPC in Union Cave (who is named Russel in-game), but I think he made it a bit livelier.**

 **While this chapter contradicts what I said in my author's note for the last chapter about shifting character focus for a bit, I wasn't exactly lying. I'd ended up putting this chapter first because it made sense chronologically and there's no reason for me to suddenly mix things up when the adventure has been a linear story thus far. The next two chapters are almost entirely dedicated to Ethan, Lyra, and Silver.**

 **I should make it clear early on that this version of Sird is extremely out-of-character to her Adventures counterpart. This is in part due to my lack of relative experience with the manga, the fact that this story is primarily based on the games, and finally, narrative necessity. So, while her actual character history will be close to what is portrayed in the manga, she's definitely not the same Sird, and she's one of very few "canon" characters who will fall under that description. Orm and Carr aren't here either, so she's fully separate from her original association with the Three Beasts aside from the Dracula/general vampire motif.**

 **I've got more time over the next few weeks to pump out the next few chapters, and I'm thinking about making 9 and 10 a two-parter and releasing them a day after each other once I'm finished with both. Not sure about that but, it depends on how fast I can get this done.**

 **Come back next time for Chapter 9: Three's A Crowd!**


	9. Three's a Crowd

**This story is co-developed by Titan127.**

 **Disclaimer: Pokémon is a registered property of Nintendo, the Pokémon Company, and GameFreak. This work respectfully uses the world and characters of the Pokémon series, with no intent of harm on the original creators. Please support the official releases of the Pokémon franchise.**

 **Chapter 9: Three's a Crowd (5,144 words)**

* * *

" _In other news, Professor Linden Elm, a League-sponsored Pokémon researcher from New Bark Town, is under investigation by Indigo League authorities. The Professor reportedly allowed a rare Pokémon to be stolen from his workplace by a juvenile and has been cited for lack of responsibility, which surfaced previous complaints by associates for his questionable and disorganized practices as a scientific professional. Officials at the Indigo Plateau are reviewing his position with the possibility of termination. The thief is still at large after a failed search by local police turned up nothing but his name: Silver Sakaki. He is described as an adolescent with bright red hair, red eyes, and a scary face. Please contact the Pokémon League or local police if anyone matching this description has been seen in your area."_

It was a recording, not a live radio broadcast, that she had taken to listening to since she first heard it at Mr. Pokémon's house. Lyra clamped closed the screens of the Poké GEAR, feeling her hand clench around the closed device. "Damn it," she muttered.

Damn it. Damn it. _Damn it._ She wasn't that angry, not really. She was just so… _frustrated._ She'd have punched a tree if there were any nearby for some physical stress relief, but unfortunately, she and Ethan were training in a flower meadow made of the titular blossoms of Azalea Town. Not a punching bag in sight.

Lyra was a person who believed in dependability. Nothing, she told herself, was more important to her than being a pillar for people to lean on. She wanted people to turn to her for help, maybe because it selfishly brought her some joy or because she felt obligated to do it, but her place was wherever she could help the most. She made the executive decision that Ethan needed her help, so here she was still following her childhood friend. If she hadn't agreed to accompany him during his Gym Challenge, he would probably have been dead at that point.

Ethan, who was being harassed and prodded and stung by angry Beedrill that he'd disturbed while trying to pilfer honey, called for help. "Ow! Lyra! Marigold isn't helping me right now! Do something!"

His dazed-looking Chikorita tried weakly to Razor Leaf the angry insects, but it was clear that she lacked any energy. The special attacks dissipated immediately as she released them.

"What did you expect to happen, Ethan?" she remarked sarcastically, still frazzled from her own thoughts. The girl stood in the flowers about ten meters away, undisturbed and disappointed. "You keep recalling and releasing her at different times of day. Even if she's sleeping well, you're throwing her circadian rhythms out of whack due to the time displacement from the Poké Ball."

Ethan pointed solidly at her. "You and I both know— ow— that I don't know what that means." A Beedrill stung him in the arm.

"Just use a Repel, you idiot!" she shouted and sat down amongst the flowers. She grumbled.

"Oh, right, that's what those were for," he said. "Thanks Lyra!"

Lyra stared off into the meadow, hoping to find something to soothe her thoughts. The pleasant aroma of the flowers, perhaps, that smelled airy and hit the nostrils like a minty breeze? The daytime sky that was ever so slightly overcast, causing a cool dampness and balancing out the brightening sun? Any part at all of the meadow that was supposedly the most beautiful place this side of the continent? No, none of that made her feel any less disappointed at herself for not being able to rescue the stolen Pokémon.

It was her responsibility, her mission, her entire goal for the past month, and it was going nowhere. She was not a single step closer to helping the Professor keep his job and making sure that his Pokémon was safe, despite people they'd talked to regularly claiming that they'd seen the person they were looking for, even as far down as Azalea Town.

Hell, having thought it over, she realized she was possibly at fault for the Pokémon being stolen in the first place. When Ethan got punched by the delinquent, Lyra rushed to help him and ignored her only real chance to take back the Poké Ball and turn that asshole in. There was no attempt by her to stop him then, and she passed on that chance without a second thought. She had to choose who she could help, and maybe she chose wrong.

She clenched her fists in her lap hard, almost enough to draw blood. Then she relaxed. There was still nothing for her to punch.

The girl felt a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up to see Ethan hovering over her. His swollen purple face flashed teeth wide and he sat down next to her. There was a comfort in his presence despite him looking like a plague victim, and she appreciated the physical contact. It reassured her some.

"I guess you're still thinking about the guy, huh?" he asked, to which she made a vague and half-hearted hum of affirmation. "You know, it's not all doom and gloom. We've tried our best to look for the guy, and despite nothing turning up, we've had a lot of fun, right? All that adventure and detective stuff?"

"If you're trying to cheer me up, you aren't helping. That Totodile could still be being abused and the Professor might lose his job, all thanks to me."

His smile didn't falter, and from his backpack he pulled out the large egg. It still hadn't hatched but was starting to shake regularly. "Life is like… this egg. It looks perfect on the outside, but it can crack and ruin the look. But, even when it's cracked, you can peel it off to find something inside that still tastes pretty good. So even when it looks bad, life tastes pretty good."

Lyra snorted and then began to laugh. Not because it was genuinely good advice, but because the metaphor was just stupid enough to cheer her up, even if only slightly. "You're an idiot," she said. "If you're waiting for it to hatch, you probably shouldn't talk about eating it. That's insensitive."

"Hey, it got you going, didn't it?"

"Yeah, it did," Lyra said. "You win, Ethan. If you're done trying to rob the Beedrill, we should probably get to the town before it gets dark."

Her friend sprung to his feet and barreled off in a random direction towards a forested area, holding the egg up high. "Last one there is a healthy egg!"

"Wait, but that's not— and you're going the wrong— oh, forget it!"

* * *

As a voice picked up, Silver kept himself squarely hidden behind a tree as he oversaw the operation.

"Alright, you're all loaded up. Take it down to the coast, we've got a transport ship waiting," said a man in a black garb. A blazing red "R" stuck out like a brand burnt into the skin, marking whose heel those goons were under. The doors to a van slammed closed and the vehicle climbed the hill, speeding off into the forest through a vague split in the trees.

Those damn bastards. They thought that they wouldn't be found out just because they were out in the boonies, but whoever was in charge did a poor job of covering their tracks. A bunch of weaklings waddling around with some Slowpoke tails. If they thought bullying some stupid endangered Pokémon proved their superiority, they were naïver than he thought.

He stopped himself. No, Ariana knew better. She just needed the money for whatever she was planning. She never cared or minded much for reputation and presentation. Not like her predecessor. Just the thought of that no-good, low-life, posh-ass piece of shit got his insides boiling.

Silver needed to bust out and show those weaklings who they needed to fear. They'd learn to fear the name of Silver Sakaki, and he'd spit in their faces. All of them. If they thought he was so weak, he couldn't wait to see the faces of pure terror as he beat them senseless and declared himself superior. He'd revel in it.

So why wasn't he moving? It had been nearly an hour since he took his position and three of those black vans had already driven off. He knew where they were, he knew what he could do, and he needed to take action. But he was doubting himself. What if he wasn't strong enough and was made a fool of by those vile weaklings?

Silver shook his head. Fearing defeat also make him weak, and he could justify losing if only to prove to himself that he could still get stronger. He wasn't afraid of trying. Really, he knew what the problem was, but he'd just been avoiding it. It was the potential that Ariana was there. That he'd have to see her again and talk to her face to face. Silver Sakaki wasn't ready for that. Maybe he'd just take some more time to scope it out. Yeah...

With a bit of hesitation and a cautious glance at the men standing by the opening of the old well, he took off through the forest. Silver's feet flew as he ran, and all the while he tried to rationalize that he wasn't running away. He was just going to get stronger, bring himself right back, and beat them all within an inch of their lives.

He looked back to make sure he wasn't being followed, and when he turned his head back forward to keep running, a sharp pain ran through his head in an instant as a fist smashed into his nose and knocked his world out.

* * *

"Hey, could I help you up?" He asked with an extended hand.

The girl struggled on the ground against the root she had accidentally wedged her sandal under, making some cute sounds as she did so. That was unimportant, though.

"Yes, that would be very nice. I seem to be a bit of a bind," the girl said. She was wearing a rather elaborate kimono that had been unfortunately soiled by dirt at its hem.

"Here, let me take a look," he said, as he kneeled down next to her. She pulled up the gown slightly to reveal the root, a sizable growth that she must have accidentally shoved her foot into when she tripped. With some force, he pried the root loose, spraying dirt everywhere as it dislodged.

The girl looked distraught because her nice gown had been dirtied further. He wiped off what he could with his hands and then helped the girl to her feet.

"Phew. Thank you, good stranger. Might I ask your name?"

"I'm Brent Custos," he said, "and I want to be a hero."

She laughed. "Well, I think you've done that much for me today. My name is Zuki Dento."

Brent focused his eyes, noticing a tinge of familiarity in her face. "Hey, have I seen you somewhere before? Are you famous or something?"

"You could say that," she said, covering her mouth with her hand in a timid gesture.

He had noticed that she spoke very formally, every word coming out soft and dignified. And her robe was definitely not casual. The only one else he knew who ever wore something like that was his Nana, and even then, that was saved for rare occasions. However, the stranger before him stood proudly in full ceremonial getup, her hair and makeup done up and her bright red and green kimono accompanied by tabi and geta. Her hair was tied up and bound by hair ornaments, each ending with a dark golden bell. They didn't ring as she moved.

Now that he thought about it, she was wearing the same kind of outfit as traditional dancers he occasionally saw on television. Cherrygrove didn't have much of a traditional history, so he never saw any performances in person, but he was sure that's what this girl was. He wasn't an expert, however, and didn't want to make any false accusations, so he decided not to ask.

"Say, why are you out here in the middle of Ilex Forest? You look like you're ready for a ball."

"Oh, that's a bit of a story," she said. "In short, I was on my way to the shrine near here and I seem to have lost my way. I'm sorry to ask this of you, but would you mind taking me there?"

"Sure!" he responded quickly. "I'd love to help."

"Thank you, kind stranger." The girl bowed, and he felt a flush of embarrassment in his cheeks. It felt nice to be thanked so genuinely.

He tapped Sentret's capsule to release his partner, who perked up to attention upon regaining consciousness. The Pokémon stared expectantly up at him.

"Okay, Sentret, can I ask you to scout something out for me? We're looking for a man-made structure somewhere around here. It should look like—" he paused.

Zuki interjected. "A small wooden house with a sloped roof."

"Yeah, like that. Can I ask that you help us find it?"

His Pokémon nodded exaggeratedly, his ears perking up high to sense the land around him. He stood tall on his own tail.

"I'll whistle every minute, so you'll always know my position. Once you find it, beeline back to me, and then we can just retrace your steps in the correct direction. Okay?"

With another hearty nod and a cheerful cry, his Pokémon proceeded on his given mission. It was clear that his partner was happy to explore through the forest, and all Brent could hope was that he wouldn't get sidetracked. Oh well. If he did, he'd have a little more time to get to know his new friend.

"That's very odd," she noted.

"What is?"

"You don't nickname your Pokémon. Most Trainers do so."

"Well, I just don't see a reason to," he said while scratching his head. "I'm not some moral opponent to Pokémon training, but sometimes I feel like it's wrong that we take Pokémon out of their natural environments. It's our job to protect them and hopefully give them a safer life than in the wild, sure, but I like mine to keep their wild names. It's a connection to their natural home and I don't want to take that away."

Zuki said nothing and seemed lost in thought. He stared at the girl, realized that she was very attractive, and tried his hardest not to be nervous in her presence. He was failing. Her hair was a beautiful dark color and her eyes a lighter but comforting brown. Even in full-face make-up, he could tell that she'd look just as stunning without it. He felt himself heating up like a star-struck idiot.

She looked over at him finally but didn't seem to notice how flustered he was. "You're a very kind person, Brent Custos. I think I'd like to know more about you."

He waved his arms in front of himself to deflect the compliment. "It's just a weird ideological thing, it's not really that meaningful. Scientists gave Pokémon their wild names so it kinda falls apart when you think about it…" He laughed awkwardly and trailed off.

Trying to find a distraction, Brent put two fingers in his mouth and let out a loud whistle, after which he began mentally counting to sixty. Then he whistled again. He continued this for five minutes, until a scurrying sound snapped him back to attention. The Sentret burst through the trees, bouncing happily on its tail, indicating that it had found something.

"You found something already?" he asked. "You're really amazing, Sentret. Do you mind taking us back there?"

His partner bounced a full turn and took off into the forest, beckoning for them to follow.

"This way, miss," he offered. "The shrine shouldn't be too far that way."

"You have my gratitude," she said.

He and the kimono-clad girl walked off, looking for the supposed shrine. As they ventured forward, all he could think about was the very proper lady next to him. Even though he was in over his head, it was his job first and foremost to be a hero and help people, so he swallowed the nervous lump in his throat and proceeded deeper into Ilex Forest.

* * *

Lyra casually wiped the blood off her right knuckle. "Not my preferred choice for a punching bag, but _damn_ that felt good."

"Geez, Lyra, don't you think that was a bit much? You're going to scare the baby," Ethan said. The swelling in his face made his voice sound off.

"Shut up and help me tie him up. Chikorita can grow vines from those spots around their necks, right? See if you can get Marigold to stretch one out for us."

"She's still tired, but I'll give it a shot."

Ethan released his partner from her capsule and instructed her to create some vines for them. As he did so, Lyra dragged the boy to a nearby tree and set him against for the time being. She tore off his jacket and rifled through it, locating his collection of Poké Balls. One, two, three. A Zubat, a Gastly, and… a Croconaw? So soon? She threw the jacket back at him haphazardly.

Ethan handed her a bundle of vines and Lyra took to wrapping them multiple times around the tree. Tight. By the time Silver woke up, he wouldn't be going anywhere. As she gripped and pulled the vines tight into a knot, she felt a certain satisfaction.

"Are you _absolutely_ certain that this guy is who we're looking for?" asked her friend. "His hair is longer than I remember, and I really hope you didn't just punch some random Trainer out here."

"He's probably been afraid to stop somewhere to get it cut because the police have been looking for him. Either way, I'm sure this is the same guy. Kind of lucky for us to find him in a place like this. I'm almost glad you didn't know where you were going."

Ethan shrugged. "When do you think he's going to wake up?"

A pathetic-sounding groan answered that question, and the boy's red eyes flashed open.

"Well, well, well," said Lyra. She sneered down at the thief with her arms crossed.

"Ugh. Where… am I? Augh." the red-haired delinquent was still dazed, and his nose was leaking blood, some swelling already apparent. His eyes met hers. "Hey, I know you. Wait, why am I tied up? Why does— ow— my nose hurt so bad?"

Lyra cracked her knuckles, where a bit of drying blood still lingered. The realization across his face quickly turned to anger, and immediately he began to thrash against the vines securing him to the tree.

"Let me go, you fucking weaklings! I don't have time for this!"

Lyra held up her Poké GEAR. It was flipped open and set to its call application, where a phone-number was already entered. She kneeled in front of the red-haired boy and showed him the number. "The police," she said. "Do you have time for them?"

He stopped, and with a grumble, he rested his head back against the tree. "What the hell do you want from me?"

"Technically, we've already got what we want from you. The Professor's Poké Ball. He told us that he couldn't deactivate it from his PC until we knew for sure it was in stasis, since he'd risk permanently releasing it if it was active. So, mission accomplished."

Lyra released the Pokémon in question from the Poké Ball, and she watched as its form materialized. The reptilian creature had already evolved, gaining a considerable amount of bulk and muscle. It stood about thirty centimeters taller than before, much of that height being a large red crest that had developed from the red spines its previous form had. It was larger, meaner, with larger teeth and a stronger jaw, and the first thing it did was try to clamp its teethed jaws around her leg.

She pulled back on instinct, accidentally dropping the capsule, and swiped a Poké Ball of her own from her pocket, releasing Maron onto the floor of the forest. He immediately readied himself, pulling his small arms up on the defensive.

The Croconaw threw itself at its opponent with its jaws wide, trying to take a chunk out of her partner. "Maron, dodge to the left!" she called.

Her Marill planted its tail and pushed off, using the spring momentum to fly out of the way. The large reptile smashed into a tree and flailed its jaws wildly. It let out a deranged cry. It was going crazy!

"Maron, use—" she cut herself off as she examined her opponent.

Its body was coated in cuts, lacerations from battle… or something else. As well, its arms, sides, legs, every single part of the reptile had some purple bruising, as if it had been repeatedly beaten and not allowed to heal. As it recovered, it panted heavily, and it was clear that it was tired. Very tired.

"You… you poor thing," she said. Lyra bent and picked up the capsule she had dropped, knowing that the Croconaw probably had very little left to fight with. It had just lashed out in defense. She recalled both Pokémon and tucked them back into her pocket. "The Professor and some nurses need to see it and fast. I'll talk to the Professor so he can de-activate this Poké Ball and register one at his lab."

"Like hell you're taking that back. Fuck your Professor and fuck you! I need it more than he does!" he spat with malice.

This time, Lyra felt rage. She grabbed the boy's collar tightly, pushed her face right up to his, bearing down at him with as much authority as she could muster. Her own anger, while colder and more reserved, cast through her eyes clear enough that Silver's own expression dampened. "You've been abusing this Pokémon the whole time, haven't you? You're a poor excuse for a Trainer and an even poorer excuse for a person. You don't _need_ anything, I have absolutely _zero_ sympathy for you."

"And you gave me a black eye!" Ethan chimed in.

The boy gritted his teeth, and a small amount of wetness was apparent in his eyes. A line of blood was still trailing down his face from his nose. Lyra roughly released him and walked over to a different tree to lean against. "Ethan, keep an eye on him. I'll call the Azalea Town Police."

"You got it!" he exclaimed. Ethan sat down in front of Silver with the egg in his lap.

However, as her Poké GEAR began to ring, the red-haired thief spoke up. "Wait!" he choked out through tears.

Lyra gave him a cursory glance but paid him no mind. She wasn't waiting for anything.

"The Rocket Syndicate is killing Slowpoke in that well nearby, you can go see for yourself. The police are going to take almost an hour to get here. Are you sure you want to let all those Pokémon die?"

With a bit of hesitation, she ended the call and slowly lowered the device.

"What the heck is the Rocket Syndicate?" Ethan asked.

Lyra had heard about it a few years ago when the news was fawning over it. Every day was a new story about something the Rockets were doing. "A crime group from Kanto. They were beaten by some kid and rounded up by authorities about three years ago."

He spit some blood onto the ground and looked up at her with damp eyes. "Yeah, and now they're coming back, I've seen it myself. Aren't you some goody-two-shoes or something? You should do something about it instead of worrying about me."

"And why should we believe that you're telling the truth?" she pressed. "This is obviously just an attempt for you to escape the police."

"Because I want to take those weaklings down! I wouldn't be here if not for them!" he spouted, suddenly. "I needed a Pokémon so I can get stronger and make those assholes _regret_ what they did to me."

Among the seething hatred he seemed to give off and his near-permanent sneer, Lyra could have sworn she saw a tiny bit of sadness hidden behind it all. A tiny voice crack and those tears. She was silent for a very long while, clenching her Poké GEAR in her hand tightly once again, feeling unfortunately like she sympathized with whatever he had gone through, despite his actions. It seemed so genuine.

"You aren't seriously considering listening to him, are you?" Ethan asked her. "I think I'd trust this egg's word more than the guy who knocked my face in."

And he was right. That was weird. But some part of her still wanted to be the helper, even to the guy who was so clearly abusive towards his Pokémon and had been making Professor Elm's life a living hell for however long. Lyra decided on the spot that she'd play this by ear and see where it went.

She pulled off her large mushroom-like cap and held it in front of her, using her other hand to run through her brown hair. She sighed heavily. Damn it. Lyra hated her sensibilities, because beyond the swearing and disgusting personality, she cared more for the chance to help Pokémon and what she assumed was some hidden cry for help.

"Silver," she said. "I'm feeling pretty good right now. I've been wanting to punch something all day, and you've let me do both that _and_ find the Professor's missing Pokémon. So, we'll entertain you for now and you can show us where these supposed 'Rockets' are, even though I know you're trying something."

He grinned, seeming much less vulnerable than before. It was probably all just a ruse to get her to drop her guard. Great. "I knew you'd come around. Now get me out of these… what are these, vines?"

Ethan released the knots from behind the tree and Silver stood up, wiping his face clean with his jacket. It was the first time she'd managed a good look at the boy, since their first meeting had been so action-filled. He stood far taller than her, his red hair and eyes being the first things she noticed. He put his jacket back on, the same article from when he first stole the Totodile. It was a dark piece with a red-trim outline. It looked a few sizes too big on him and dropped to his mid-thighs.

He put a hand forward. "If I'm— we're going to take out the Rockets, I'm going to need my Pokémon back."

"You're just showing us the way. You're not getting anything back until I say so. If I _ever_ say so."

"Fine," he said, frowning. "It's this way." He began walking off through the trees.

She and Ethan shared a look before continuing. Even without words, she knew that look. 'What in the world do you think you're doing?' it said. She held up the Poké GEAR to him, showing a text messaging application open on the small device connected to the Azalea Police's number. She quickly typed a message about the situation and their location before pocketing the device. Maybe it was devious of her, but whether Silver was lying about some criminal operation going on or not, either he or them would be interesting to the police. Ethan shrugged, and the two followed Silver's trails.

She knew that Slowpoke Well was around this area, but they'd had no incentive to go looking for it since it was supposed to be fenced off and guarded. Slowpoke were an endangered species that had a history of poaching, explaining the giant "WARNING: NO TRESSPASSING" signs that began to appear as they sped through the forest, marking different perimeters around the well's central location.

This was the second time the two found themselves sprinting through the underbrush after Silver, even if the situation was slightly different. She could feel her calves begin to burn because she and Ethan's activities that day had already worn her out. However, she pushed herself on, this time not for Silver, but for the potential to save helpless Pokémon. Maybe the situation _wasn't_ so different.

After about five minutes, Silver suddenly stopped, and Lyra and Ethan came to a halt with him. The trio overlooked a small crater, the earth sloping down where the well had originally been dug. In its center lied the concrete well itself, surrounded by a large electric fence. It wasn't running, judging by the noise—or lack thereof.

A few men in black were hanging on the inside of the fence by an open gate. Their dark clothing was marked across the chest with a bright red "R" logo.

"See, I wasn't lying to you," Silver said to her with a bit of a sneer. "The Rockets are in there and I plan to destroy all of them. And their leader might be in there as well. I don't know." An unexplained hesitation was apparent by a voice crack, which he coughed to try to cover up.

"How many are inside?" Ethan asked in a low whisper.

"I've been hanging around a while and I've counted at least twelve to fifteen different people. There might be more in the well itself."

Ethan gave him an incredulous look. "As much fun as it is to beat up bad guys, how can we handle all of them at once?"

"I hadn't figured that out yet," Silver said, "but the best bet is to try to sneak around and lay low."

Lyra's stomach turned with a horror as another man climbed out of the well holding large buckets filled with blood-splattered pink tails. They were still leaking, and the men were handling them as if they meant nothing at all. As soon as the small hit her nose, she nearly vomited. There had to be at least ten tails just within those buckets, and she could have sworn that there were full hundreds inside the open doors of the black van sitting idle. It made her sick beyond just the physical, and she could feel a pure anger rise up once again.

She balled a fist at her side.

Silver and Ethan tried to work out a plan, but by the time their attention had returned to Lyra, she was already inside the fence. The men shouted. She summoned Maron. A few of them rushed at her, but her fist was already swinging and made sickening contact with a face, sending him to the floor.

The two other Trainers were shouting at her to run, but she called for Maron to attack.

If she was there, no other Pokémon needed to get hurt. She was a helper, and if helping the most possible meant knocking some heads, she was ready to do it.

* * *

 **I personally think it's a good creative practice to completely ignore the primary protagonist on occasion.**

 **Happy New Year! 2018 was one hell of a year for me, and I had a lot of things happen and change during that time. For one, I finally began writing this story, which had been in various developmental stages for a long time. Outside of that, my life has been changing drastically, and while I'll spare the details, it really does feel like I've come a long way as a person since last January. Last year was a productive one for me, so here's to another year of change and growth.**

 **My primary resolution is to write more, and judging by this chapter, which is the closest to a one-week turnover I've ever gotten, I'm making some progress. What was** _ **not**_ **one of my resolutions, however, was being honest about my update schedule. I said last chapter that I would start releasing on Sundays and try to do Chapter 9 and Chapter 10 as a two-parter. Neither of those happened. Whoops. Instead, from here on I'll start releasing chapters as I complete them, because I've found that I have motivational troubles making advanced progress on the next chapter while a completed one is in limbo waiting for a regular posting time.**

 **Though I'm mostly going off of what's given in game, I was a little tripped up by Zuki's attire and character background, since I'm not very acquainted with the customs of Geisha/Meiko as a western fan of Pokémon. I'm going to have to read and research a bit more to make sure I'm handling the culture well. And before anyone asks, I realize that it's supposed to be Naoko who is found in Ilex Forest in the original game, but I changed it since, of all the Kimono Girls, Zuki is the only one who is plot-relevant here.**

 **Anyway, enough rambling. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I hope you'll come back next time for Chapter 10: Vendetta. See you then!**


	10. Vendetta

**This story is co-developed by Titan127.**

 **Disclaimer: Pokémon is a registered property of Nintendo, the Pokémon Company, and GameFreak. This work respectfully uses the world and characters of the Pokémon series, with no intent of harm on the original Pokémoncreators. Please support the official releases of the Pokémon franchise.**

 **Chapter 10: Vendetta (7,672 words)**

* * *

Lyra dropped from the ladder into Slowpoke Well. The heavy footfalls behind her told her that Ethan and their new "acquaintance" followed her lead. However, she wasn't really in the mood to think about them. Instead, she was far more focused on fixing this problem as fast as possible. Especially as the smell of death hit her nose.

It was revolting. Not the kind of revolting that made her laugh and shy away, but the kind that made her choke on her own breath and fear what was coming next. That nearly-boundless, deathly odor of rot. It was overpowering her other senses, but she couldn't pull herself to turn away, even when blind sighted by the overstimulation. She didn't want to find where it was coming from, even though she knew very well what _it_ was.

A large doorway stood in front of them. Carved from the rock itself, it separated the well's entrance from the greater cave inside. She placed the headlamp taken from the unconscious guards on the surface around her bulbous hat. Ethan and Silver each got one, too.

Ethan spoke up first. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked.

"If we don't," she said, "it'll be too late when anyone else does. Let's go."

The police were too far out. Any extra hour they waited condemned however many Slowpoke to mutilation. Lyra wasn't sure she could handle the guilt if she didn't take action now. A helper didn't hesitate. A helper would throw themselves at the first opportunity to make a difference, no matter how dangerous. Even if they couldn't stop the criminals conducting this operation, they could at least stall for time until the police arrived.

The Trainer unhooked her overall straps and reattached them as they fell around her legs, then rolled up her sleeves to her upper forearms. Sweat was already beading on her forehead. She tried to tell herself that it was from the cave heat as she stepped through the doorway and switched on the headlamp.

The interior of the well was a spacious cavern, measuring about twenty meters in height. As she directed her head, the stolen headlamp revealed the contours of the rocks lining the walls and ceiling, and she could see drips of water that likely permeated through the above soil. Many of the descending stalactites reflected a deep blue glow, crystals of a shadowy color. The same kinds of mineral growths scattered the floors of the cave between bodies of water.

"Your friend seems really focused," Silver said behind her.

"When she gets like this, nothing can stop her," Ethan said. "She gets an idea in her head and she doesn't let it go 'till she's through with it. If you ask me, it's pretty scary."

Puddles appeared before her as she stepped through the cave. The only way she knew the other two were still following her was hearing the successive splashes following her own. Her nice shoes drenched with a disgusting, murky ooze with every foot she placed down. A chill ran up her spine as her head and chest were sweltering. That deathly odor was closing in.

"There's some standing water to our left," Silver said, "and I see lights across the water. I don't think they know we're not their own guys yet."

"I've noticed," Lyra told him. "Just shut up and let me concentrate."

A hand roughly grabbed her shoulder. On instinct she spun around and swung, which Silver caught with his hand. The headlamp shone up at him, and even through the squint his mood was made clear. "I didn't come down here just be bossed around by some bitch faking her own authority. Now get that light out of my fucking face before I repay you my bloody nose," he snarled.

She wrenched her hand away and refused to back down. "Need I remind you that we're being _nice_ by helping you fulfill whatever vendetta you have against these criminals?"

"I'm not sure if you've noticed, but I don't think I've implied I need or want your help," Silver said coldly. "You're completely insignificant. Hell, I don't even know your names. That's how much I care about either of you.

"Then let's properly introduce ourselves. I'm Lyra Kotone, that's Ethan Hibiki. Happy?"

"I still don't care. You two are dead weight and I could easily do this without you."

"Could you do it without your Pokémon?" Lyra asked. Her fingers brushed against the smooth capsules in her pocket.

An absolutely indignant expression of furrowed eyebrows, bared teeth, and clenched jaw stared down at her. He was truly intimidating, even dangerous, and the only reason she had any control over him was that his "weapons" were nestled in her right pocket. "I'm not faking my authority. Right now, you're on _my_ leash, because you aren't worthy of being a Pokémon Trainer."

Lyra felt the punch coming before she saw it. She twisted her head and felt time slow around her as his knuckles flashed past her face. The droplets of water crossing from ceiling to floor, splattering into the cave water, were audible in the moment, as everything else was quiet.

The instinct to defend herself kicked in again. The girl curled her own fist and aimed up towards his stomach. He grabbed her wrist before the impact and squeezed. Hard. She let out a loud, painful cry and tried to pull away.

Staring back up at him only confirmed her thoughts over the past hour. He had a sick grin on his face, reveling in his superiority in the exchange. A troubled child with no way to express himself but through violence. Someone who didn't grow up around nice people and someone who had seen more than most adults. But she still didn't feel sympathy for him, _that_ she stood by. No, she felt pity. Pity for what he made of himself despite it.

Ethan thrust himself in between the two of them and pushed them as far from each other as his body would allow by extending his arms. Silver let go of her and neither of them made a move.

"Look, I know we've had our differences, but if we're still doing introductions, I'd like you guys to turn your attention to a new friend who might help solve our problems." He extended his arm, motioning with his palm. "Both of you, meet Crazy-Eyed Rocket Gangster Who Probably Wants Us Dead."

She and Silver's heads turned in unison towards the open space that Ethan's headlamp revealed. There stood a crazy-eyed Rocket gangster who probably wanted them dead. His irises faced opposing directions and she could see tar in his mouth as he spoke into a walkie-talkie with a minor accent. "Heya boss man, we've gotta problem, but I can handle it."

The cave came alive with a red glow as two parties readied their Pokémon. All around her, the sudden flash reflected off the blue crystals to return a brilliant purple for a split second. She released Maron from her capsule. The Grunt unleashed an intimidatingly large, tailed creature, covered in tan fur. It stood on two feet and gnashed its huge front teeth together. It was Rattata's evolved stage, Raticate. There was no warning, no referee, no asking if they were ready. This was real.

"Norve, use Bite!" he shouted, causing the giant rodent to spring into action.

"Pound it with your tail!"

The Raticate lunged forward, but Maron swung his tail like a flail directly into the rodent's cheek, sending its bulk crashing into a stalagmite. Over the past few weeks, Lyra had been studying over her Pokémon to gain a better understanding of her team's fighting abilities. Almost all Pokémon species have an innate ability, and Maron's was called Huge Power. At the level they were fighting, his physical attacks would be far beyond any of his peers and the impacts would be devastating.

"Norve, focus ya energy," he ordered the rat. It complied, and in its quick recovery, its entire body emitted a soft glow.

She needed to stop that charge. Something long-range, like Bubble. Her Pokémon opened his small mouth and released a stream of pressurized bubbles from his mouth. They popped painfully against the rat, and only after the attack connected did she realize she neither got the chance nor needed to order the attack. However, despite the flinching reaction to the bubbles exploding around it, the bulky Pokémon was undeterred and completed the focusing action.

"Ya in for it now, girlie!" taunted the grunt. "Norve, try Bite again."

"Be on guard!" she ordered.

The tan rodent broke into a sprint, and Lyra realized too late that it was a lot faster than she expected. Its small feet powered its large body across the rocks in seconds, and it lunged, teeth bared forward, feet off the ground as it rocketed the last two meters.

"Dodge it, now!"

It was too late. The sickening sound of tearing flesh flooded her ears. A splatter distinct from the ambient splashes of water told her all she needed to know. Maron batted away the Raticate with its tail to dislodge the clamped bite. Under the headlamp light, she could see a tear in the Marill's rounded side. His small breaths, hitched. His movement, staggered. It became clear then to Lyra just what kind of trouble she had driven herself into, and just what the stakes were. These criminals wouldn't be afraid to hurt them, to put them as far down as possible that they couldn't get up. They were in over their heads, a bunch of kids trying to stop organized criminals set on doing wrong. She should have realized what she was playing at before diving into the well.

However, as the small rodent reared up for another attack and the gangster heartily soaked in her partner's injury, a flash of green from her side flew past and smashed into the Raticate's face. The rat turned its cheek back, furious at the new opponent. Ethan and Marigold stood ready behind her, and even though the Chikorita's exhaustion was apparent in her drooping leaf, she began to glow green again to ready another Razor Leaf. Ethan gave her a thumbs up and wide smile. "Marigold might not be in top condition, but we're not going to let this guy take you down."

Right. Even if they were in over their heads, they were in it together. "You're both idiots," she said, relieved, "but thanks for the help. Can you still fight, Maron?"

Her Pokémon, injured as he was, croaked out an affirmative squeak. It raised its small blue arm like a fist-pump.

"Let's finish this quick, Ethan," Lyra said.

"Right! Marigold, launch it!"

The Chikoritas swung her head around and fired the Razor Leaf, the crescent rushing across the battlefield. Both the crazy-eyed grunt and his Pokémon moved to react. He called out for the Raticate to dodge, but she took this as her opportunity. It wouldn't be able to dodge both attacks at once!

"Spring from your tail and Pound downwards!" commanded Lyra.

Maron fought back his pain, wound up his tail and launched into the air. He soared, and the weight of his tail rotated his body mid-air, building up momentum as he twirled faster and faster. The Razor Leaf flew past the giant rodent, who dove to the side to avoid taking another strike to the face. It was left wide open.

She swung her arm out and shouted. "Do it now, Maron!"

Her Pokémon released a battle cry and carried into his own airborne momentum. He brought his tail down as hard as he could, and the flail-like ball smashed into the Raticate's head. She could feel the force of the hit radiate outwards as the sheer power of the impact drove the creature into the ground, cracking a crater into the floor of the cave rocks. It was unconscious, unmoving.

The gangster revealed that he didn't have another Pokémon to fight with when he reached for his walkie-talkie again and frantically tried to speak into it. "Boss, we've got a—"

His warning message was cut off when a fist smashed into his cheek. The man staggered and fell onto his behind and dropped the communication device onto the floor. Silver's foot smashed it to pieces. The delinquent grabbed the man.

"Where the hell is Ariana?" he prodded.

"The fuck you talkin' about, kid?" the man choked out, spitting up phlegm and tar. "The Boss wouldn't do some grunt work like this herself. And who's askin', anyway?"

"Silver Sakaki is asking, you piece of garbage," said the boy. "Now who is running this operation?"

"A new guy, name's Proton." A flash of recognition crossed the man's face. "Sakaki, huh? I've heard about you. Not many good things, I'd say."

Silver must have decided that he had enough information, because before she could ask any questions, he stood up and reared his foot back. Lyra tried to call out to stop him, but she was drowned out by the sickening sound of the boy's kick to the man's head. The grunt was out cold. Silver cast his attention to Lyra, and once again she realized just how intimidating he was.

"Hopefully now you've learned your lesson," he said. She didn't respond, still shocked at him knocking the gangster out. "Your Pokémon got hurt. We're not dealing in fair fights down here, and they'll start coming at us once the realize this guy isn't responding. I need you to give me _my_ Pokémon or else none of us have a chance."

Lyra realized that she had never taken her hand out of her left pocket. She hadn't taken her hands off the capsules. Silver extended a palm.

She made an impulsive decision to venture down into the well, when she could have easily left it to the police. The boy's truthfulness was still in doubt, but he led them to the Rockets, so she was willing to believe his statement that at least fifteen other gangsters were hanging around in the cave, chopping off tails. Each was probably a Trainer. They were hopelessly outmatched. To win—and hopefully save some Pokémon—she needed to make another impulsive decision.

With her hand held out, she dropped the capsules into Silver's own. His grin was unsettling. Whether it was genuine or deceptive, she did not know.

"That's the best decision you'll ever make."

* * *

The Pokémon Center in Azalea Town had a back patio, a nice patio that overlooked a flower patch. The bloom of mid-spring made the flowers explode with color, and though his pollen allergy could stand to lay off, Ciel found himself drinking in the seasonal aroma. He sloshed around a glass of green apricorn juice, courtesy of a juicer in the Center's cafe. He'd arrived in Azalea that afternoon and was enjoying time off with his team after a week setback in the depths of Union Cave.

He was nose-deep in a book in a reclining chair. An avid reader he was not, but there was still so much for him to learn about Pokémon. _The Eighteen Types: A Novice's Guide to Pokémon Biology and Battle Strategy_ acted as a starting point, along with a few other texts he'd picked up from the town's library on the whim of needing to know what they had to offer.

As he got to a passage about the Dark Type, his partner's own classification, he looked up a moment.

"That's weird," he said. "I feel like I should be doing something important right now."

Ciel looked to his left, then his right, then gazed out over the meadow. Then, he returned to his book. It was probably nothing.

* * *

"Crunch!" shouted Silver.

Despite its adeptness, the swooping Zubat couldn't prepare for its opponent leaping into the air. The Croconaw savagely crushed the flying Pokémon's left wing within its jaw, both crashing to the ground in the aftermath. The reptile then set upon the fallen, broken Pokémon in a frenzy, scaring the Rocket commanding it into hastily recalling her fallen team member and disappearing further into the cave.

"Our battle's not over yet!" he shouted at the grunt who had all but disappeared from their limited vision. Silver recalled his own Pokémon and frowned. "Weakling. I wasn't done with her yet."

"It doesn't matter," Lyra told him. "There's water to our left and a wall to our right, and if we could see lights across the water, it seems like the entire ground here is just a curving path towards an end point. Like a crescent."

"So, you mean none of them could be coming from behind us?" asked Ethan.

"It's possible, but since none have yet, I'm running on the assumption that they can't. If any of them want to leave the cave, they have to go through us."

"If there's only one path, why haven't we seen any Slowpoke, dead or alive? They should be all over this place, 'cause it's named after them and all. Or did _they_ name the well?"

She ignored the last statement, but not the validity of his question. Only two answers came to her mind. Either there's more to the interior ground of Slowpoke Well than they assumed and there were cavernous passageways they had yet explored, or there really was only one path. The latter meant that the gangsters had simply been working their way to the end and taking any Slowpoke with them.

They found the answer to Ethan's question and the origin of the rotten odor soon after.

The entire time they'd been in the well, a bit of lingering doubt held fast in the back of Lyra's mind. Though they had seen the Rocket gangsters and some of the detached tails on the surface, she wanted to tell herself all along that Silver was just playing games with them, even after he followed her inside and they began working as a team. She had no reason to trust him but her own responsibility to herself. However, all doubt was eliminated from her mind when they found it. The source of the smell towered over them.

A rotting mound of corpses stood as the operation's flag. The lumps of flesh were so discolored and crawling with insect Pokémon larvae that they were hardly recognizable as the Slowpoke they once were. But, if a vague collection of whimpered cries were any indication, some of the bodies in the mass were still, and pitifully, alive.

Lyra felt completely justified when she leaned over and released the contents of her stomach. Ethan rubbed the small of her back to try to calm her down.

Standing next to her, Silver was unphased by the decomposing pile. However, he seemed focused, and suddenly turned his head to one direction. "Does anyone else hear that?"

Lyra wiped her mouth on her rolled sleeve and focused her own hearing. Among the present drips around the cave, she tried to focus another sound. More Rockets approaching? No, it was something else, like a scraping of metal against rock. Like the sharpening of a knife. Multiple ones.

The girl found her bearing and slowly made her way around the giant pile, resisting as best she could the nauseous urge to vomit again. They were nearing the end of the accessible cave, and beyond the pile, previously obscured by its large form, were the many lights they witnessed as they entered. Slowly, the trio made their way forward, and came upon the heart of the operation.

Large halogen lamps were set up alongside portable generators and various wheelbarrows and buckets littered the rocks of the cave, and she could even see fishing poles set up by the water. Stains of blood appeared around their feet under the powerful lights. Their own headlamps reflected as they hit the shining blades of cleavers and knives held by the members of the Rocket Syndicate who all noticed their approach.

"Hey, what the hell are they doing here?" one asked.

"You kids are in the wrong place!" another said, furiously.

One was in the process of a downswing, and she noticed too late as the cleaver came down upon a pink form. Lyra screamed. _"No!"_

A Poké Ball flew silently and tapped the Slowpoke, dematerializing its form into red light that retreated into the capsule. The gangster's cleaver smashed into the stone below where the Pokémon used to be, sending sparks flying. The small ball shook once, twice, three times, and then went motionless.

Ethan rushed past her side and tackled the Rocket to knock the cleaver from his hand. Her friend snatched the Poké Ball from the ground before retreating over to the two other Trainers. "I may not know much," he said, "but you guys are the bad guys, we're the good guys, and we're here to stop whatever this is. You got that?"

"Ethan, you may be insufferable sometimes," Lyra began, "but I'm really glad you're here with me. Keep that Slowpoke safe."

"I'll ignore the part of that that wasn't a compliment," he said, before a confident look crossed his face. He readied Marigold's Poké Ball.

She and Silver did the same as the Rockets in front of them all turned their direction and summoned Pokémon of their own. She counted six, no, seven, eight, nine different people. Numerous Zubats, Rattata, Spearow, Houndour, Koffing, and Ekans all materialized in front of them. They were severely outnumbered. Her heart was beating out of her chest, she could feel it in her head. This was it.

One of the Rockets held up a hand and no one moved. He stepped forward under the light, shadows highlighting an unsightly smug expression. The young man, maybe in his twenties, with green eyes and teal hair under a small cap, was wearing an outfit with more flair than the rest of the muscle they'd encountered. If she had to place a bet, this was the guy in charge.

"What do we have here? It looks like a couple of walking, talking problems have come to town," he said. Lyra noted an annoying quality about his voice, a combination of suave and overconfident that made him out to think a bit too highly of himself.

"You must be Proton," Silver said while stepping forward to meet him. The two stared each other down.

"Great, if you already know me, the Coolest Guy in the Rocket Syndicate, then we can skip introductions. Now, we've got some important business going on here, so I'm going to need you annoying fucks to stay down so we can decide what to do with you."

"I don't give a shit who you are," Silver spat. "I'm here to make a statement, and you're in my way."

"And what statement would that be, kid?" the man raised an eyebrow.

Lyra needed to stop him before he did something reckless. No one was moving, so it would probably be a good idea to just stall instead of getting into a fight. They didn't have enough battle-ready Pokémon to take that risk. "You shouldn't antagonize him. He could be a lot more skilled than—"

He cut her off and spoke up. "My statement is that I'm not weak anymore. I could stomp on all of you without a second thought, and I want Ariana to know that. _You hear me?_ If you're the guy in charge, tell your boss that Silver's back and that she's going to regret throwing me out!"

Silver was part of the Rocket Syndicate. _Was_. She should have known; the similarities between him and the criminals opposing them were uncanny. It explained his behavior and his vendetta, but that just made her fear even more for his Pokémon. That's why he was so cruel and unfeeling towards his team. He learned from the best. The thought made her fist curl again.

"Sorry, kid, I'm a bit new around the base," Proton said, seemingly making a joke out of it. "I have a hard time believing you were part of the Syndicate. Are you even an adult?"

"I was a Rocket. I did everything I could to live up to Ariana's expectations. But she said I wasn't good enough. I wasn't _strong_ enough. She took my Pokémon and threw me aside like I was nothing." There was limitless venom in his words. Lyra couldn't comprehend his anger. "I'm back. I've got new Pokémon now, and I got strong."

Proton began laughing. "That's rich, kid. You make this big deal about yourself, but you can't talk to her yourself? If you were a Rocket, then you probably know where to find her. I bet you're just being a pussy and failing to own up to your own hot air."

Silver screamed. The battle exploded as Croconaw rocketed from its Poké Ball towards the man. Every one of the grunts moved at once called out attacks, forcing Lyra and Ethan to respond in kind. All hell broke loose.

"Mega Drain!" she commanded Ray as he flew from his Poké Ball. Maron was too hurt for her to continue fighting with him.

Hundreds of tiny green particles, glowing in the darkness, emerged from Ray's round body. They floated in the air for only a short period, before his concentration sent them towards the Rattata and Zubat that had found him in their sights. The particles seemingly dissipated as they contacted the bodies of the enemies, but their lunges weren't stopped. She waited.

As if suddenly too tired to function, the attacking Pokémon harmlessly flew past Ray and hit the ground. From their tired bodies, green auras separated themselves from their beings, floating back to rejoin with Ray. The move had just sapped their energy, leaving them vulnerable for a short while.

She couldn't hold her breath, though, as immediately more opponents were upon her. Another Rattata emerged and swiped out its claws, raking a wound across his front. The sprout rising from his head was harmlessly batted in response, but the pitiful counter couldn't prevent him from taking repeated scratches up close. He wasn't meant for close-quarters combat.

"Lyra, out of the way!" called Ethan behind her.

She didn't question the command and ordered Ray in kind. "Ray, jump backwards!"

As soon as he was clear, she could see the shape of a crescent in her periphery, aimed at the sky, glowing brighter as it streaked towards one of the hanging crystals. The Razor Leaf sliced through the hanging formation, and in silence it fell downward. As the Rattata reared for another attack, it was smashed into the ground by a shattering meteor of crystal shards.

Lyra turned her attention towards Silver and his brawl with Proton, the leader. The boy called out for his Pokémon to use Ice Fang, and it obeyed. It threw itself recklessly towards the Koffing even as it spewed poisonous gasses, sinking its teeth into the levitating body. As blood spilled, ice crystals formed amongst a shroud of mist. The Koffing let out a garbled outcry of pain and began spewing even more gas. The boy called out for his Pokémon to use Crunch, and it obeyed. It grabbed the purple mass and pulled it to the ground with its claws, viciously taking a bite out of another part of its body. It crushed the flesh of the Koffing within its massive jaws, inadvertently releasing even more poison gas. The Croconaw was choking on its breath, and as it jumped back to its Trainer, she knew it was dangerously poisoned.

That didn't stop Silver from ordering another attack, and the Pokémon obeyed. Proton, realizing that he was losing his battle, drew two more Poké Balls from his black suit and added a Golbat and a Spinarak to the battle. Silver immediately countered with his own Gastly and Zubat. Neither Trainers were skilled enough to manage a triple battle and both parties devolved into ruthless melee. Silver was losing. Only his Croconaw had the raw power to go toe-to-toe with Proton's own, and in the three-on-three, she watched his team begin to fail.

Meanwhile, she had her own problems. The two Pokémon she put down with Mega Drain were beginning to recover. She shifted her position and found Ethan at her back.

"We need to end this fast, Ethan. I'm not sure how much longer we can go, especially with all of our Pokémon in such bad shape," she warned.

"I hope you have an idea, because I sure don't. I'm not good at ideas," he said. "Cover your mouth. Marigold, Poison Powder!"

She held her sleeve up to her face as noxious spores whirled in the air around them, keeping some of the approaching Pokémon at bay, buying them just the smallest amount of time. Lyra counted three Rockets on her side with ready Pokémon, all of them with the same intent to put them and their Pokémon down. They needed more power. All of them.

"Uhh, Ethan," she said, realizing something with Ethan's bag against her own back. "Why isn't the egg in your pack? I can feel it missing."

"Wait, what do you mean? It's been in there the whole… time." He felt a hand back, realizing the shape of the bag was much flatter than before. "Gulp."

"Did you just say 'gulp' out loud?"

"Lyra, look at the ground."

She cast her headlamp down, where scattered pieces of shell caught her attention. They formed a trail, and she slowly moved her head to follow where they lead. She barely realized that everyone there, Rockets included, had stopped in curiosity, all their gazes focused on the small pale creature wearing half of an eggshell on its bottom. It squeaked cute, baby squeaks.

The Pokémon, obviously not realizing the horrible brawl that was supposed to be occurring around it, waddled over between Silver, Proton, and their legions of Pokémon. Neither could take their eyes off the walking proof of the miracle of life.

Ethan choked. He was crying. "I've never been prouder in my life. Lyra, it's taking its first steps already. They grow up so fast." She elbowed him in the side, and he shut up.

Ethan's Togepi raised one stubby, short, pale arm. No one had yet moved. While continuing to make curious chirps, it began slowly wiggling its limb back and forth. She couldn't tell what in the world it was doing. Trying to get their attention? The Rockets began murmuring amongst each other. She saw one shrug. They had no idea either.

A small orb of light appeared. From directly above the Togepi, it rose into the stagnant cave air. Her head followed, the small sphere radiating brilliantly, until it reached a crystal on the cave's roof. The Pokémon itself looked so pleased with what it had created, and sat down, content, on the rocks of the cave. Then, the ball burst.

All at once, the cave came alive with a shimmering blue light as the radiating waves from the orb cast, reflected, and shone from the various crystals in the cave. Her vision suddenly became completely clear, and her skin tickled with a familiar warmth. It was almost like the cave had moved outside, into the bright and blazing sun.

As a powerful shine surrounded Ray, she knew what happened and what she needed to do. "Silver, Ethan, get behind me, _now!_ "

Neither questioned the occurrence and Ethan dove to grab his newly hatched companion out of the way. Silver recalled all his Pokémon, leaving only the still-stunned Rockets as both boys took their places behind, Proton shouted at his grunts. "Get your asses moving, you idiots! Take them down!"

Ray's ability, Solar Power, had been activated. Most Grass-type Pokémon had some affinity for sunlight and required exposure to synthesize nutrients, but some can use that energy and transfer it directly into their energy output for attacks. The result, as she'd researched, was a massive increase in power. It was just what they needed.

The Rockets gave their orders, and every conscious Pokémon they owned jumped for she, Ethan, and Silver at once. Lyra shouted as loud as she could. " _Solar Beam!"_

The well went white. Though the three were spared by being position posterior of Ray, she still felt her skin melting under the intense wave of heat when the column of pure, concentrated sun engulfed the Rockets and their Pokémon. The energy filled their vision and forced her to shield her eyes from the blinding light—and ears from the screams. Despite only lasting a moment, the massive attack's sheer power couldn't be understated, and when the light dissipated as the beam struck the far wall of the cave, their attackers lied prostrate on the ground.

Each of their Pokémon was covered in sizable burns. None moved. The Rockets themselves hadn't come out unscathed. One unfortunate gangster threw himself into the murky cave water to douse his flaming jacket. Of everyone in the cave, only the three young Trainers were still standing tall.

She cast her eyes to Proton, who was lying flat on his rear, his own clothing smouldering, a burn decorating the right side of his face. His cap was missing, leaving just a frazzled head of hair. All three of his Pokémon were either unconscious or unable.

Silver made his move towards the man.

"Wait, wait, wait, waitwaitwaitwaitwait," he said quickly, "I surrender, okay?" The young man raised his hands to the air. "I don't want any trouble, just let me out of here and be on my way. I didn't really even want anything to do with this. Seriously."

"That's sure a quick turnaround," Lyra muttered.

She didn't like the creepy smile on Silver's mug as he approached. "You aren't so tough when you've lost, huh? The Rocket Syndicate is all the same."

"No, I'm serious. I'm just a college student. I, uhh… I needed the money, and I just ended up here, and, uhh—" Proton, genuinely afraid that Silver was going to hurt him, began backing up, slowly.

"You're just second-rate losers who enjoy feeling power over people. You enjoy the fake invincibility you think your group gives you," Silver continued, "and when someone finally beats you, you reveal how weak you truly are. I hate the weak."

"I don't know what happened between you and Ariana, but leave me out of it, okay? I am a _computer geek_ , not a mob boss. She's the one you want."

"I'm not sure Ariana would appreciate you not taking responsibility, Proton," called a singsong female voice from behind.

The three of them turned at once at towards the new arrival. However, there was no one. The cave was empty, and when they turned back to Proton, he too was gone. Disappeared without a trace, carried off by something they hadn't seen. Silver stared darkly at the ground and balled his fists. He muttered something under his breath. He made his way past towards the entrance of the cave without a word.

Lyra finally collapsed, her legs giving out. They'd been shaking the entire time, but adrenaline had kept her propped up just long enough. Countless thoughts swelled through her head of just how stupid she was to have tried to challenge the Rockets, how close she'd come to getting ripped apart and beaten up, how fantastical it all was. That heart of hers was trying its hardest just to keep all her blood pumping.

Throwing yourself at criminals and trying to do the right thing wasn't nearly as easy as fictional stories made it seem. She was hardly able to think—and maybe she wasn't thinking the whole time—and spent five minutes just trying to collect herself. Nothing could have prepared her for the danger of the situation, the feeling of receiving a stare from someone who genuinely wanted to her. But she was okay. She was okay. She was still in one piece.

That didn't mean they succeeded. She cast her eyes sadly over the mound. The smell, she'd almost become acclimated to it. Hopefully the police could do more when they arrived.

Ray slowly hopped over to her and sat in her lap. Ethan sat down next to her. He seemed strangely fine and in better condition than herself, almost as if he had enjoyed putting himself on the line like that. She rested her head on his shoulder.

"Thank you, Ethan," she said.

"No problem. My shoulder's the most comfortable pillow around."

What an idiot, she thought. She was thanking him for saving her, twice, no, three times. But, yeah, having someone to lean on was nice too.

Her pack buzzed an important sound, and she checked her Poké GEAR for the expected message that the police had arrived. She showed it to Ethan. "We should head outside so we can tell them what happened."

"Yeah. Anything to get out of this dumb well, right?"

* * *

The Azalea Police wasted no time in apprehending every remaining Rocket at the site. She recounted the situation the best she could to the man in uniform who approached them. His shirt was a bright and offensive pink, two pockets decorating its front and a badge embroidered on the sleeve. She told him about the suspicious vans, about the giant mound and the poaching operation, which he immediately sent manpower down to find. She mentioned that their supposed leader disappeared before they arrived, even if most of the grunts were still around. The only thing she left out was the red-haired thief. Maybe it was because the theft was unrelated to what was clearly a bigger problem. Maybe she just forgot. She didn't know.

He asked a few pressing questions, but ultimately seemed to realize that Lyra wasn't in any condition to talk. If he had an issue with their collective display of vigilante justice, he didn't voice it. But the one thing she did want to talk about was what she feared the most.

"I can't really say for sure, since I'm no expert, but it doesn't look good," the man said sadly. He was in his early thirties, she thought, and already looked tired, like he'd seen a lot. "Until we can bring the Indigo Endangered Species Commission here, we won't know for sure, but one of our experts estimates that about ninety percent of the Slowpoke were killed. It's not realistic to expect them to recover."

She gave a curt thanks and walked off, not wanting anything more to do with it. The police could clean up the rest.

It was evening by the time everything was wrapped up and they began to head to Azalea. The two were silent towards each other, Ethan too preoccupied with his hatched Togepi more than anything. He played with it much like someone would a human baby, and though she had made fun of his stupid quips about his Pokémon being his children, it left her to wonder if taking a similar approach was effective. The egg-shaped creature seemed to enjoy it and shared as many chirps as its Trainer's laughs. It stared at her, large, beady eyes filled with wonder underneath its three head bumps. She forced a smile for its sake.

"Where's Silver?" she asked her friend after a few minutes, once they had left the vicinity of the police's search.

"I have no idea. He left Slowpoke Well ahead of us, and I haven't seen him since."

She sighed. "Damn it. Of course, he left. I shouldn't have given him his Pokémon back. I bet he was planning this since we tied him up."

"I haven't left," said a voice.

She turned to her side, where she leveled a judging gaze at the boy leaning against a tree. The bloody hue of his hair and eyes drew her attention amongst the falling day. "So you haven't. What do you want?"

"I just want to, uhh, thank you for all of that. You _helped_ me." He put an unnecessary stress on that word.

"You and I both know that's bullshit, Silver," Lyra said bluntly. "You want something from us, so spit it out."

He gritted his teeth. "I wanted to give you these," he said, revealing the three capsules she had only just given back to him. The last vestiges of the sunlight reflected harshly off their shiny red tops.

"Why?" she asked. He had no reason to give them anything, and he even said it himself. He didn't care about her or Ethan at all. Nor did he really care about his—the Professor's—Pokémon.

"I need you to take them to a Pokémon Center. I can't."

Right. He was still a wanted criminal, and even if they did heal his Pokémon, they needed his Trainer Card to allow him to use their services. He'd be cuffed and his team confiscated as fast as he could blink once the nurses realized who he was. But, what audacity did he have to ask for their help? She snatched the objects and stuffed them in her bag as fast as possible before she said anything else, not wanting to waste the chance to once again retrieve the missing starter.

She gazed up into the boy's face, wondering what she'd find. "You look like you're expecting them back."

"You didn't tell the cops about me. You did that for me, and I didn't ask, so I'm trying my luck."

She laughed. Loud. "Do you seriously think, for a second, that I would return them to you? After you sucker punched Ethan, abused a Pokémon that you stole, and was part of one of the most infamous criminal groups in the region? Who, as we've seen, have no problems with mutilating Pokémon to their heart's content?"

"I don't care what it takes," he said. It caught her off guard, because for a second time, she was seeing weakness underneath a facade of strength and malice. "You two are strong. Way stronger than I thought. I need that kind of power to accomplish my goals. I want you on my side, whatever that takes."

A seasonal wind blew through the forest, between she and Silver. As she looked at him, she found the same thing she'd found before. Someone without a proper way to express himself, someone damaged by past experiences, someone to pity because of his lack of integrity. He stood there, asking for another go, in front of someone he knew clashed with him on so many fundamental levels.

"You know who we are," Lyra told him. "I barely tolerate your attitude, I don't believe in using Pokémon as tools, and I believe in helping people first and foremost. Ethan's almost the same, but he cares even deeper for his Pokémon than maybe I do, and he has every reason to hate you. We aren't like you, and you want to put yourself in our hands?"

"Yes," he said. It was quick, it was decisive. He had already made up his mind. "If becoming strong has anything to do with it, then yes."

"Do you really mean that? Do you promise?"

"For fuck's sake, _yes!"_ he shouted. "Is that so hard to understand?"

She turned her attention to Ethan, who had yet to say anything, but had this confused and pondering look about him. As did his Togepi. "Ethan?"

He put a finger to his chin. "Well, Lyra, if I'm being completely honest, I don't hate anybody," he explained. It was naïve, but as far as his perspective was concerned, it was true. "And everyone can get better, even if they aren't great right now, right? He proved he wasn't lying before when he led us to the well, so I'd bet he isn't now. If you believe in helping people, shouldn't you extend it to him?"

Ethan was right. If she didn't stick to her morals, she wasn't herself. She offered her hand to Silver and stared him in the eye. "Then it's settled. If you're willing to put in the effort, and I'll be the judge of that, then you could earn your Pokémon back. We aren't friends, but maybe we can help you."

The red-haired trainer shook her hand apprehensively, and for the first time, she looked at him as something other than an enemy.

"I won't forgive you," Lyra said, "but I believe in second chances. Don't waste it."

Silver placed his hands in the pockets of his oversized jacket. "I'm not known to waste an opportunity."

Ethan held his Togepi to the fading evening sky. The small being chirped in delight as a baby would when held and played with. "To christen this new partnership, I demand that we come up with matching team nicknames!"

" _Why_?" Lyra and Silver asked in unison.

"Well, because his name is so much cooler than ours!" Ethan exclaimed. "I'm just _Ethan,_ and he's _Silver._ Everyone's gonna think he's the important one. So, if he's Silver, then I'm Gold." Her friend laughed under his breath, and whispered, "not because I beat him, or anything."

The sheer fury on the tall boy's face told her that this was going to be a long journey. If she was already this tired, the days ahead would be an eternal damnation the likes of which theology had never theorize before.

Her friend pointed accusingly at her. "So, Lyra, if we're Gold and Silver, then you must be… Platinum! Wait, no, that's too northern." He mulled another moment. "Bronze? No, too fake." As if she could see a lightbulb over his head, he lit up. "That's it! _Crystal._ "

"That doesn't even match," she told him.

"That's because you aren't thinking about it like I am," Ethan—fine, _Gold_ —shot back.

"I'm not sure I've ever thought about anything like you have, and I'm better off for it," she muttered, before checking her Poké GEAR's map application. "Azalea is back this way."

"Lead the way, _Crystal,_ " her friend shouted. Silver, on the other hand, said nothing, but diligently followed the two friends. She was counting on him to keep his promise.

* * *

 **That's how mafia works.**

 **Sorry, couldn't resist.**

 **The thrilling conclusion to this two-part storyline! I hope you enjoyed it, because I enjoyed writing it. It went a lot longer than I had anticipated, but I think that was for the best, because I could more naturally flesh out the character moments in this chapter. I don't think it's necessarily the best chapter I've written so far, but I'm satisfied with the result.**

 **While I'm no longer on break, I've fortunately managed a good schedule that gives me at least an hour or two to work on this during weekdays, and that's enough to get the 1,000 words per day I target to keep this on schedule. Hopefully this chapter going a little over the two-week mark is an exception to my new situation.**

 **I'm excited as all get-out for the finale of RWBY Volume 6 next week. It might be obvious, but some of Silver's dialogue in this chapter might be slightly familiar for anyone who has been keeping up with it.**

 **Now, from a behind-the-scenes perspective, I'm a little under a third of the way done this story.** **And from a behinder-the-scenes perspective, I'm only 1/18th finished. God help me.** **As well, I'm a few chapters away from completing the first greater "story arc", though I use the term loosely, since it's less united by common plot and more so by tone and feel. In writing this chapter and the previous one, I had a sudden revelation that I wanted to add an original subplot involving Team Rocket in the second half, since their actual story presence in the Generation II games is somewhat lacking and lopsided. I've begun rewriting my outline a bit to fit that new addition, and I'm excited because of the extra space it gives me to flesh out the Rocket characters.**

 **As always, any communication is appreciated, and I'll see you next time for Chapter 11: The Jungle Homecoming.**


	11. The Jungle Homecoming

**This story is co-developed by Titan127.**

 **Disclaimer: Pokémon is a registered property of Nintendo, the Pokémon Company, and GameFreak. This work respectfully uses the world and characters of the Pokémon series, with no intent of harm on the original creators. Please support the official releases of the Pokémon franchise.**

 **Chapter 11: The Jungle Homecoming (7,114 words)**

* * *

The Goldenrod Showdown. Individually, it's the most well-recognized and televised youth battling event in the entire Johto Region. The sheer mass of Trainers from multiple cities over and from the deep rural countryside as they converge on Goldenrod could not be understated. As far as tournaments go, while it couldn't hold a candle to the World Trial by sheer renown, it was the best opportunity for young local Trainers in Johto to get their names out there and announce their presence to the world.

Kori was excited all her youth to be able to attend and test her mettle, and her championship title nearly two decades earlier is probably the reason she managed to be scouted by the Indigo League. And now, that many years past, she would be returning to Goldenrod not as a learner, but as a master. Plus, she could finally have an in-person introduction to her new colleagues among Johto's Gym system. The League's reputation of bloated and inefficient scheduling had unfortunately come through and put that off long enough.

She'd take a train to Ecruteak and then further to Goldenrod later that day. However, at present, she was speaking with Ciel over video chat. He decided to give her a call after stopping by a daycare center on Route 34. It was thoughtful—and a nice chance of pace, if you asked her—that her son was reaching out to her, instead of the other way around.

"It's a convenient coincidence you decided to leave when you did, honey," she said to him. "That you just happened to be getting to Goldenrod in June gives you a nice opportunity. You have two Gym Badges, right? You could participate if you wanted."

He hesitantly laughed and trailed off. _"I guess so, but I'd have taken waiting a few weeks in Goldenrod over being stuck in Union Cave."_

"Well, what were you expecting, Ciel? You said you didn't have a map of the cave system with you, so it's your own fault. If you hadn't been picked up by a nice stranger, you might have died. Please be more careful next time."

" _Right, right,"_ he said.

Neither of them had anything further to say for a few moments. Some might have called the silence awkward, but she had a different perspective about communication. Sometimes, less meant more. All that was necessary was the presence of her family, letting her feel the comfort of togetherness. Kori was just as happy to be on the line with her son even if both of them were occupied. Just knowing she could speak to him was a blessing in itself.

Had he always looked so grown up? A two, two-and-a-half-month difference wouldn't have ever mattered before, but just seeing him, he was like an entirely different person. He was still her same little baby, but there was a maturity about him that she hadn't noticed before. It tore her heart on whether to feel proud or saddened.

"Are you excited to be back home?" Kori finally asked.

" _It's technically not my home anymore, though,"_ Ciel replied.

"You were only in Mahogany for, what, a day? Goldenrod is still your home just as it's mine. Maybe you could visit some of your old high school friends while we're there."

" _How are we staying?"_

"Since we've already sold the house there, I've just got rooms at a hotel near where the tournament is being held. I'm glad we reserved far in advance. Getting a family-sized room around the Showdown is a nightmare."

He looked puzzled. _"Am I staying with you or will I be at the Pokémon Center? I hope you aren't spending extra on something high-end when I can get a room cheap."_

"Oh, don't be silly, Ciel. I already ordered for fo— three people, so drop by whenever." Kori caught herself quickly and held in a breath. Ciel didn't say anything, so she continued. "The League sets aside an employment stipend for things like this, since we're obligated to attend.

" _Okay, thanks mom. I should probably be going. I met back up with Brent and were planning to cross the last stretch of Route 34 today. We should be in Goldenrod tonight at the earliest._ "

So soon? That was alright. She'd be seeing him in person in a short while anyway. "Of course. You have fun, honey, and try not to get yourself into trouble. I know that's a tall order, but at least try."

Her son laughed lively. " _I'll give it a try, but no promises. I hear trouble is all that Trainers get into._ "

"I love you, Ciel."

" _I love you too, Mom."_

As she ended the call and shut the lid on her laptop, she was returned to the gentle atmosphere of their new home. It was early on Sunday, and she'd barely been given time to wake up. Rising sunlight cast in stripes through the nearly closed blinds, an ambient dust visible through the room where the sun laid. The residence was smaller than their previous one and far less modern. Sliding doors, floor mats, simple futons, and other minimal furniture marked olden ways, with the appearance only broken up by the modern convenience of a heating system, which in Mahogany was a necessity. Relaxing, she thought it. The simplicity felt like a haven where nothing was expected of her. Being a Gym Leader was fulfilling work, but she quickly found it more mentally exhausting than any other career on the planet.

A Gym Leader was intended to win. Most people will never beat a single Gym Leader over their lifetime, and the modern folk hero of the Trainer who conquered a region's Gym Challenge, took on the Elite Four, and became the Champion was a rarity of the highest order. Her son had talent and was making good progress, but he'd had four more years of training than most and decided early that he wanted to become a Trainer, helped by her and her husband's supervision. She had Pryce, whom had offered to train her from a young age back when he still regularly visited Goldenrod for League business. Most others, however, wouldn't be so fortunate. Many would see the insurmountable odds against their first Gym Leader and how the system was meticulously tailored _against_ Trainers who began at a regular age and quit before they ever had the chance to begin.

However, at the same time, the revenue the Pokémon League obtained from Trainers and their activities was so invaluable that it needed to ensure a constant supply of rising Trainers to perpetuate the system, to encourage the public to try and fail. The only way Gym Leaders could do that was to hold themselves back. And at the same time that they placed a permanent cap on their personal advancement to act as a roadblock, they had to perform at a high enough level to watch the childhood dreams of hundreds, maybe thousands of Trainers crumble before them.

Pryce had explained all of this to her once, and now she was experiencing it firsthand. She and her husband were villains at the same time that they were teachers. And at the end of the week, when she'd worked herself through this ass-backwards mindset through a hundred battles, she wanted to do nothing more than to sleep and be with her family.

"Hey, are you interested in some breakfast?"

She looked over to the door, which had been slid open to reveal her husband, Daku. He had a tired look about his square face and his graying blond hair, which she could reason was from the same source as she. "Only if you're offering."

"I can't _un_ cook it, so I'm not really sure you have a choice." He revealed a plate of steaming food from behind his back, already prepared and doctored. Soup, salmon, and rice, while simple, were the perfect wake-up comfort food.

"Breakfast in bed, dear? You're precious," she teased.

Daku sat down next to her and handed her the plate. He placed his arm around her and she leaned into him, feeling that familiar comfort of presence rise back up. The food was a nice bonus as well, and she dug in, fighting back her urge to wolf it down with as much grace as she could muster.

"The trip's going to be exciting, isn't it? I don't think either of us have attended the Showdown in a while."

"You know," she began with a mouthful, before swallowing to continue, "only one of us is required to go. Are you sure you wouldn't rather take the week off with the Gym closed leading up to the tournament? I can still alter our reservation."

He took a moment to respond. "I'd just rather spend the week with family than alone, I think."

That was false. She knew very well that he had an ulterior motive. "You want to speak with Ciel, don't you?"

"Did you tell him I was coming?" he asked.

"I almost did, but no. I'm not sure why you think that'll change anything. He might be more receptive if he knew you'd be there instead of showing up and expecting an audience."

"It just seemed like a good opportunity."

"Any better than the previous thousand, Daku?"

He pulled away, obviously angry at the accusation, and stood up from the bed. She could tell he was about to storm away as happened every time they had this conversation. Ciel was always a rift point between the two of them, perhaps because he envied her positive relationship with him.

"You two had been living under the same roof for years. You had so many chances to try and sit him down and talk to him, but you avoided or botched every single one. What makes you think now will be any better?"

"I don't know, okay?" he snapped. "You're right. I'm running out of chances now that he's on his own and I realized that there may not be many left in the future."

"Then you need to take responsibility for yourself. You owe it to the both of you."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean, Kori?" he asked.

"I know what this is and why you want to go. You're expecting me to help you solve this since you've not been able to do it yourself." Kori sighed and set the plate of food next to the bed. She looked at him with as much caring as she could. "It's been years, and I know you've changed. I know you had a rough patch and the League was more to blame for tossing you between places and docking your pay and whatnot. In a way, I understand why you got yourself to that place, and I had hope that you'd get yourself out."

She stood up and grabbed his hands in her own. Locking eyes, she stared into his green. His blonde hair was graying around the roots, showing the toll of age. "Daku, I know you've changed. You've been sober for half a decade, you went to counseling for almost that long, and you've been trying your hardest to make up for it. You've changed, but the only one who can't see that are you and him. You don't want to admit that you were ever in such a low position, and Ciel won't see you to have changed if you don't tell him straight."

"Kori, I—"

"Daku, did you ever actually sit down and apologize to him? I know you apologized to Laina when you hit her because you realized then how much damage you caused. She forgave you. But you damaged Ciel's perception of you and never gave him the same chance to do so. You've tried to be nice and to make up lost time, but you've never actually told him you were sorry."

" _Because it's hard!_ " he shouted. She backed away from him, and he stood tall, staring vacantly at the floor. "I just want to get rid of that and move forward. It hurts to look back."

"And it should," Kori told him, "but you can't ignore it. Your life isn't split into separate parts. Your past is what makes you _you_ ," she told him, placing a finger on his chest where his heart laid. "If you choose to accept that you've changed, it says more about you than if you try to forget. But I can't help you. I can't try to explain to Ciel this because it won't have the same impact. I'm your wife, not your mother. It's not my responsibility, and you can't leave a problem like this to be solved by someone else. If you want to make things right, you must do it. I believe you can."

He was silent, and she put her finger down. They both stood there for a while, not even regarding each other. "Your food is getting cold," he said softly. There wasn't any malice or anger in his words.

Kori sat back down and picked the breakfast back up. "Thank you, Daku. I'm sorry."

He walked from the bedroom and slowly closed the sliding door behind him, leaving Kori to sit alone on the futon. She ate the rest of her breakfast without a word, remembering then that, sometimes, spending time with her family was harder than any job.

* * *

Ciel could tell summer was approaching. As he walked the seaside path of Route 34, the last vestiges of cool wind were nearly drowned out by the pleasant and growing warmth of the sun's rays. To his left, the sea stretched endlessly in view, and to his right, an overgrown grassy plain that transitioned abruptly into some inland woods. The only thing separating the two worlds was the was the two-lane road that would lead them right to Goldenrod.

"Car," announced Brent.

Their entourage veered to the right lane as a vehicle shot from behind. The road had been preferable to both sand and grass, especially since they were still far enough out that the volume of traffic was minimal.

"So, Ciel, how did your Azalea Gym Battle go? You told me you got the badge, but I don't think you ever explained how it went down."

Ciel shrugged. "There wasn't much to talk about. Three of my Pokémon have an overwhelming type advantage against Bug." He'd been reading about type matchups to commit them to memory. There were so _many_ of them _._ "After Falkner, I was expecting it to be difficult, but Bugsy could barely do anything against me.

He cast his eyes to his Pokémon. Raven once again found herself carrying Arden on her head and at that point had come to begrudgingly accept her position as a mount. If he wanted to make a wild accusation, he'd say that the Absol was proud of the enjoyment she brought to the junior Pokémon. Arden flared in excitement whenever he realized they'd be traveling, and the new sights he could take in from the vantage point satisfied him. Not that Raven would admit the maternal instinct if he prodded.

Hector trailed slowly behind Raven and Arden, diligently keeping up with the remainder of the group. His heavy footfalls and stature gave him an unrivaled presence, even though he was smaller than other Rhyhorn. That trait he shared with the final member of his team, who at that moment was preening Ciel's eyebrows. The Trainer had no need to excessively brush his hair before, but the absolute mess he was left with whenever Clovis took to nesting up there was humorous to say the least.

Clovis had also grown noticeably larger. He still wasn't _big,_ but the size difference was enough to make Ciel worry about the crick in his neck.

Brent had his own Sentret riding his shoulder, but his other regrettable Pokémon was still in stasis. It wasn't the best idea to toss the freshwater creature out into the ocean, and it could only survive on land for so long with internal water reserves.

That left only one person unaccounted for. He'd thrown glances back at her most of the trip but had yet to say anything. He finally decided to ask.

"So, who's the new girl?" he said as he spied her ornate dress carried by gallant strides.

"Oh, that's Zuki. She's a friend of mine that I met a few days ago. She decided to travel with me for some reason, but she never really explained why."

Ciel leaned in and whispered, cupping his mouth. "So then why is she treading so far back? It's kind of creepy."

"I'm sure she's just trying to be polite. Comes off to me as a bit reserved, you know? I could introduce you, if you'd like."

"Sure?" He shrugged.

Brent suddenly slowed his pace and Ciel followed suit, until Zuki had caught up to them both. The girl seemed unphased by their sudden move and offered them a curt greeting. "Hello."

"Hey, Zuki, I'd like to properly introduce my friend here. This is Ciel. We'd been adventuring together for a little while, and since I'm the mutual friend, I thought you two should get to know each other."

Zuki leveled her gaze on him, sizing him up with a bit of intrigue. "Greetings to you, Ciel. You both have oddly foreign names." She bowed in a curtsy.

Were they too foreign, or was she too native? That was an interesting thought. He hesitantly waved in return while feeling the awkward atmosphere. Her being aloof and stiff didn't help—awkwardness talking to new people was something they had in common.

Ciel realized from some subtle cues, however, that Brent wasn't any more comfortable, but for different reasons. They'd met about a week ago and were obviously more familiar with each other, but a few half-laughs and arm rubs told him too much. It wasn't his job to play matchmaker, though, so he just giggled and let the urge to tease them pass.

The ocean road curved as they neared the city. The sun began its descent over the east, hanging still behind the deep forests as they traveled. Vehicles became more frequent, traffic to and from the city congesting further, and their group took to the sand in absence of any true sidewalk. Ciel felt a warming familiarity overtake him as the sprawl of buildings towered over them. It was an unforgettable skyline.

He stopped to take it all in, causing both Brent and Zuki, as well as his Pokémon, to pause inquisitively.

In a little over two months, he'd returned to where he'd spend most of his entire life. The Opulent City. The City that Overlooked the Sea. The City of Big Happenings. Whatever it was called, he knew it by a different name.

"Home," he said aloud.

Brent flashed a grin. "We're not going to find a place to settle before dark if you have to stop to reminisce. I never pinned you as the nostalgic type."

He resumed with a chuckle and their entourage proceeded, with excitement, to Goldenrod.

* * *

Of course, the first thing anyone would want to do after being away from home for so long is sleep. And boy, did Ciel sleep. He was sure he'd never again have trouble sleeping in, because camping out in a tent for months trained a person to take advantage of a cozy bed.

When he woke, it was sometime after noon, and it took most of his effort to get out from under the covers. He'd taken a room for the day before his family arrived, and just as his mother had implied, there weren't many rooms left available. The tournament coming up would pressure every type of lodging the city had.

As he showered and clothed and shaved, he noticed that none of his Pokémon were raring to go for the day. Raven and Arden laid curled up in a pile on the bed, while his newest team member seemed passively awake. He scratched Hector's head, to which the reptilian Pokémon responded favorably, but otherwise the behemoth didn't seem active. A cave-dweller like himself probably wasn't used to long hikes like the one they'd just had, so he'd need some time to acclimate.

Clovis was the only one with any energy, and as soon as an opportunity presented itself, the Pidgey launched from where he stood and took nest in Ciel's hair. Hair that he had _just_ brushed, he might add. He mumbled to himself and walked outside into the main hall of the Pokémon Center, stretching his limbs and yawning.

It was only a few seconds before he was tackled to the ground. He barely even knew what hit him.

"Big brother, I missed you so much!" cheered the high-pitched, sing-song voice of his younger sister, who was squarely wrapped around his torso in a hug.

He pulled himself up and squeezed her tight in his own embrace. "You're getting too big to keep doing that, Laina. You're gonna hurt somebody." Clovis, who had been disturbed by his fall to the floor, flapped around and chirped in annoyance before once again finding rest in Ciel's hair.

She puffed her cheeks out in a pout. Her signature move. It was super-effective. "Fine, fine. You're just too much sometimes, you know that?" He slowly dropped the girl to the floor.

"Oh, I know. You just let me get away with it."

He scratched his sister on the head and ran his fingers through her hair. It was a deep red color. A recessive trait, but common throughout Kanto and Johto. It was from their mother's side.

And speaking of that devil, someone else had been standing by during their exchange. Ciel noticed his dark-haired mother, decked out in her robe and seemingly ready for battle. "Don't you still need to say hello to someone?"

"I was getting to that," he joked. He pulled his mother into another hug. She returned the gesture, and they held each other for a while. Being away even for two months made him a little homesick.

"It's so nice to see you guys again. What are we—"

She held up a finger. "Nuh-uh, me first. Here." She shoved a package at him, pulled from somewhere.

Ciel stared at the box. Polka-dot wrapping paper? A bow? "What is this? Wasn't my birthday months ago?"

"Just open it, you putz." His mother sighed.

With a shrug, he tore into the box, shredding the paper to pieces and revealing the true packaging underneath. Slapped in plain view on the front end was an image of a wrist-mounted digital device that opened to two screens. The title above read plain and clear: Pokémon Gadget, Explorer, and Receiver. A Poké GEAR.

"After you went into radio silence before getting to Cherrygrove, I'd been trying to track you down one of these so I could have easier contact with you. These newer models keep having stock issues. Between you and me, I think I got scalped by the guy I got it from."

"Wow, I… thank you so much, Mom!" he exclaimed, swiftly pulling the device out of the box and its cushioned packaging. Ciel attached the device to his wrist, pulling the strap tight. He flipped it open and powered it on. "This is so cool. It's even got a Pokédex function."

"I knew you'd enjoy it. It's a useful tool, as well as a leash I can use to prevent you from getting into trouble."

"When you put it like that, I'm not sure I want this thing," he said. She burst out laughing.

Laina chimed into their conversation, putting herself between the two to attract attention. "So what are we doing today?" she chirped.

" _We_ ," she emphasized, "are going to the tournament office so I can fill out some paperwork for Laina here to attend as a guest. You're participating, Ciel, so you'll just need to show up on Saturday and register on site. Once Laina and I are done with all that bureaucratic nonsense, we can move you into the hotel room and go out to eat."

"Should I stop by the Gym to scope it out?" he asked.

His mother shook her head. "Every Gym in the region is shut down this week to allow the Leaders enough time to get to Goldenrod for the tournament, even the one right here. The best you could probably do is find the Gym Leader and ask if you can arrange something in person."

"Do you know where I could find them? I remember you saying you hadn't met any of the other Gym Leaders yet."

"It's Monday, so she's probably at the University. Her name's Whitney, and she's a student there."

Wow, he thought, she must be super young. Ciel had assumed that most Gym Leaders were in their thirties at least and had either graduated from higher education or skipped it entirely. He didn't remember the Goldenrod Gym Leader being a young woman in TV promotions. Was she new?

"I guess I can go check it out," he said. "I never got to see the University when we lived here, so it'll probably be fun."

"You can take your friend and his friend with you." She pointed behind her towards a couch, where Brent and Zuki were chatting. He assumed they'd been waiting for a while since he woke up so late. "Make an afternoon out of it."

"That's a plan. I'll see you two soon, alright?"

"Okay! I can't wait to do fun stuff with you!" Laina exclaimed.

"We'll see you in a bit," said his mother. "And Ciel, fix your hair. You look like a mess."

As if his stuck-up bird gave him any choice in the matter. A prideful chirp told him that someone was proud of his handiwork.

* * *

"This is pretty dang cool, I'd say. I've never been to a city this big before," announced Brent as they walked up Main Street.

"With a home city like yours," Ciel said, "there's not much of a milestone to beat."

The name Goldenrod was apt, because the city was plated in gold. Not literally, of cours, but the gilded appearance borne of dandelion brick pavement, metallic yellow lining most of the buildings, and a few of the namesake trees and their titular color really sold the concept of an "opulent city". His hometown was lively and sparkling, which is one reason why never got tired of the view. It was no Ecruteak, though, so it was relatively cheap to live there.

Ciel, Brent, and Zuki passed under a towering skyscraper, its logo shining true, even under the midday sun. They were making their way out of downtown towards the east side and passing all the _really_ ostentatious buildings. Surrounding them were jagged odd angles, weird abstract architectural fixtures, tall spires, towers, overhangs, glass walls, corporate logos, _everything_. The amount of detail poured into the cityscape made him dizzy. Not to mention, in the afternoon of a Monday with the workday in full swing, people were swirling around him, everyone with somewhere to be and something to do. The three of them were swerving in and out, bumping into strangers left and right.

Strangely, the tallest building in the entire city was the Goldenrod Department Store, dwarfing even the city's landmark radio tower. He used to hang out there on weekend with some of his old school friends—it was the perfect place to muck about, window shop, and do nothing at all. But, as much as he wanted to stop by so many places he used to visit, they were on a mission, and as the buildings thinned out after they traveled a couple dozen blocks, he knew they were getting close to the University.

Zuki was most out of place of the three of them. Here he thought Brent was the backwater farm boy. She and the city were two distinct entities and they clashed horribly. A discomfort reflected in her face.

"Hey, are you doing alright, Zuki?" Ciel asked the kimono-clad girl, concerned that the sights were too much. As someone born in a city like this, he never had the perspective of someone who hadn't been surrounded by such a crowded and busy place for their entire life. It could be anxiety-inducing for all he knew.

She took a deep breath. The clapping of her wooden sandals was audible among the bustle. "I'm… splendid. There's no problem, I'm just a bit shaken."

Way to inspire confidence, Ciel thought. He motioned to Brent, who without hesitation paced by her side and took the girl's hand. The slight calming effect it had on the girl was cut short, however, as she whispered something under her breath.

"I think we're being followed. More specifically, _I'm_ being followed."

"What?" asked Brent, urgently. "What do you mean?"

"Please don't be suspicious, but there are two suited men that I noticed were behind us a short while ago."

Sure enough, as he slowly turned his head, he could see behind them, among the crowd, two large figures with black sunglasses hiding their eyes. They looked like bouncers, or worse, gangsters, and he wanted nothing to do with that. It was their job to do something about this. Brent was a hero, and Ciel was a protector.

"Zuki, can you take your _geta_ off? We need to run," Brent urged. The girl nodded and then slipped off the sandals, leaving her in socks on the pavement. "Ciel?"

He nodded. "I'll make some noise and hold them off. We'll meet up later at the University."

Without another word, Brent and Zuki broke out into a sprint, cutting through the crowd. The two suspicious men, seeing this, also shot into action. He only brought two Pokémon with him, that being Clovis and Hector, both of whom were in stasis. Ciel pressed the button on a Poké Ball and brought it to ready state. He held the capsule forward popped the mechanism, materializing the newest member of his team on the street. As the body expanded within the red beam, the crowd gasped and veered away.

He threw out his arm to command. "Hector, use Bulldoze!"

If he was tired before, the Pokémon didn't display it then. He reared up on his hind legs, and using his entire mass, slammed into the pavement. Ciel's feet almost gave way underneath himself as the miniature tremor the attack caused rippled the ground around them. Nearly everyone in the crowd around him, businessmen, tourists, and city-goers, lost their footing and fell to the ground in surprise with accompanying gasps and shouts. The two men didn't fare any better, and he watched as one of the suits fell hard on his hind quarters and the other slipped forward and met the concrete with his face.

Ciel barely managed to keep his own balance, and the civilians steering clear of his Pokémon left him a wide lane to scare the two suits something good. "Hector, charge!"

His Pokémon powered from a standstill and accelerated towards the two men. It was like watching a tank cross a battlefield, each stomp shaking the ground. They had both managed to collect themselves just soon enough to see the tiny behemoth barreling towards, forcing the two to split in opposite directions and dive out of the way into the fallen crowd.

Ciel held the capsule out and recalled Hector, before heel-turning to make his getaway. "Sorry, everyone!" he shouted to the fallen crowd. All he got were a few groans and expletives in response, but at least everyone would be okay.

The Trainer knew the streets well enough to find an alternate path. He ducked through a few alleys he'd seen around this part and wracked his brain for where he supposed the campus was located. As he appeared out in the open on another street, he looked up at the long apparatus casting a shadow on the road below. The magnet train rail. It ran right through the university to cross the Johto Region.

He followed the track for about twenty minutes at a fast jog until he crossed into an out-of-place green field. Suddenly, he'd crossed into an area of century-old construction, where each building had dignity. A long white building with a central, windowed clocktower stood across from him down the campus's main road. After a few quick glances behind him to make sure to the suits hadn't managed to find him, he sat down on a nearby bench, panting, heart pounding, muscles on fire. He wasn't sure he needed the thrill like that so often.

"Ciel!" called a voice. His two friends made their way over. They were both out-of-breath as well, and Zuki was still running around in only her socks. "What happened?" asked Brent

Ciel held out a thumbs-up and grinned. "We lost them," he said through gasped breaths. "They probably won't know we were coming here, so we're in the clear."

The two friends bumped fists and sighed in satisfaction. They had done their jobs.

"I'm not sure how I can express my gratitude," Zuki said as she slipped her sandals back under her feet. "You both have done me an excellent service."

He and Brent waved her off in unison. "It's no trouble, so don't worry about it," Brent reassured. "I would like to know why you were being followed, though."

"They are my retainers," she said. Her articulation was as pristine as ever, despite the labored breathing. "They've been looking for me to return me to Ecruteak."

Ciel raised an eyebrow. "You ran away from Ecruteak?"

The girl didn't answer, which simultaneously answered the question. She didn't seem at first glance to have any Pokémon, and in dress like that, he couldn't help but wonder how she made it so far south.

"Well, whatever reason you're here, you can be sure you're safe with us. We'll keep you out of trouble." Brent said that with the goofiest smile he could muster. Light seemed to reflect off his face.

The three of them took some time for a break. They bought a few snacks at the Poké Mart before they left since they hadn't planned to stop to eat. A few candies, water bottles, and even some sushi passed between the three of them. It wasn't high-class, but they all could use the recharge. Every item Zuki held in her hands elicited an apprehensive look, as if she'd never seen a snack before—the commercial packaging looked downright offensive when compared to her clothing. Still, she thanked them for the food and didn't complain, obviously just as worn out from the chase as either of the two boys were.

Ciel cast his eyes up to the clocktower, where it was about to strike four against the slightly cloudy sky. A loud bell chimed, and within minutes, the outflux of students from their last classes for the day filled the courtyard where they sat.

"I guess I'll go ask around," offered Ciel as he stood from his seat. "You guys can stay here if you want."

He once again enclosed himself in a crowd. A few people stopped when he beckoned, and he asked where he could find the Gym Leader. Other students ignored his question entirely, which was quite rude, and another set of standoffish preps scoffed at the idea that he was speaking to them. It made him flush red, but he tried to ignore the jeers.

"Whitney who?" "Oh, you mean the Gym Leader?" "I've seen her before, but never met her." Every kind of non-answer he could imagine was given, though with a student body as large as Goldenrod, he realized it was a longshot to locate any one person who knew a specific other person. The closest anyone came to solid information was that they had met the Gym Leader before and had seen her around the University's "humanities" building.

Without much else to go by, he made his way in the direction that person pointed. As he turned the corner, he smacked into someone. _Hard_

"Ow!" he shouted, laid out on the floor for the second time that day.

"Hey, watch where you're going, guy!" chastised a girl. "Gah, I think my nose is bleeding." She had striking white hair and green eyes. The latter weren't out of place, but the former was only found in the region north of Kanto. She looked a little younger than he did and was substantially shorter. She wore a white tank and cargo pants.

"Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to hit you," he said as he pulled himself up. "Would you happen to know where Whitney is? The Gym Leader?"

"You just smashed me in the face and _that's_ what you ask? You must be some hotshot Pokémon Trainer."

"Well, yeah, I'm trying to complete the Johto Gym Challenge and I heard I could find her here. And sorry, again."

She waved it off, pulling some napkins from a pocket in her cargo pants to wipe her nose. "It's whatever. Actually, I have a class with her, which we both got out of a little while ago. It should be her last class of the day, so she'd be heading home, I think."

He sighed and dipped his head. Damn. They'd. already missed her. After having to run from those suits, they'd have to go back empty handed, and that was a major disappointment.

"So, you're doing the Gym Challenge. You want to become famous or something?" the girl asked, curiously. She had a sly look about her as she inspected him.

"I mean, I guess?" Ciel said. "I'm just trying to become a great Pokémon Trainer, and being famous would be pretty cool." He left out the rationalization of him wanting to protect people he cared about. He understood Brent's struggle. It must sound kind of dumb.

She cocked her head up at him. "It's really difficult to get big as a Trainer, isn't it? You'll just fade into obscurity if you don't give it your all. Then you won't make money and it'll be even harder for you to train."

That sounded like a challenge. If he wanted to get strong to be able to protect people, he could easily reach for the top. The World Trial, even. He crossed his arms and held the best confident posture he could manage. "You'll see. In a few years' time, you'll be hearing the name Ciel Fauder on international TV!" he boasted.

The green-eyed, white-haired girl snorted. "I'll hold you to that, hotshot," she said, before walking away. "Have fun getting your butt kicked!"

Deciding that he found as much as he could, he walked back across the university grounds towards the main clocktower. Along the way, he passed a giant marble statue of a Jigglypuff, standing tall to honor the school's mascot Pokémon. He personally thought having "The Puffs" represent a school was a stupid idea.

As he approached their bench rendezvous, he noticed three people, rather than just two. The third had a head of ostentatious pink that forced him to blink twice to make sure he was seeing a real color. The girl's white shirt had a matching trim, which combined with her hair and long striped socks made her a magnet for attention. He picked up the pace until he was within earshot.

"You must be one of the Kimono Girls! I'm a _huge_ fan, it's so nice to meet you!" the girl pressed. Her attention was completely focused on Zuki and it was clear that her personality wasn't a good match. Her presence completely overpowered the other through extroversion.

"Hey, she's already a bit shaken, so can you step back a bit?" asked Brent.

"What do you mean? I'm not being overbearing, it's all fine. You're Zuki, right? Zuki wears the black kanzashi. Naoko wears red. And Kuni wears blue. And—"

"And the person who needs to speak to you is here," Brent announced. The girl spun on her heel like a ballerina, eyes landing on Ciel as he approached. "We, uhh, we found Whitney," Brent said to him.

"Yup! That's me! Gym Leader of Goldenrod and Normal-type extraordinaire! Put 'ere there, what's your face," she cheered, and extended a hand for him to shake. Her weirdness made him hesitate, but he shook it all the same. "You need something from me?" she asked.

"I'd like to know if I could, I don't know, arrange a Gym Battle?" Ciel asked. "My mother implied that might be possible."

"No can do, guy," Whitney told him. "If I've got a week off like this, there's no way I'm going to deal with any kind of _work_ work in the meantime. What kind of girl would pass up a vacation?"

"Oh." He felt somewhat rude for asking.

She put her hand on his shoulder. "Nah, don't feel too bad. If you're going to watch the tournament, I'll be there with the other Gym Leaders, and then we're right back operational starting next week."

"Actually," he corrected, "I'm going to be participating."

Her eyes went wide. "Oooooooooooh. It's gonna be super fun, I guarantee you! If you're participating in the Showdown, you should take this week to train your ass off. I'll see you at the tournament, Mr., uhh…"

"Ciel."

"Yeah! See you at the tournament, Mr. Ciel," the Gym Leader exclaimed, before skipping off towards the end of campus. He couldn't help but think she reminded him of Ethan. Or maybe even his sister.

Ciel turned towards his two friends and shrugged. "The afternoon was kind of a wash, but at least we had fun?" Zuki shot him a glare. Guess not.

Brent spoke up next. "We should head back. It's like she said. If the tournament's coming up, we're going to need to train and train and train to stand a chance, even if we've only got a few days left.

"Wait," he realized, "you keep saying 'we.' You're participating too?"

"Of course! I've also got two badges, and I'm not going to miss a big opportunity like this, being pitted against some of the best rising Trainers in the region. It's like the best experience a Trainer could get."

The three of them left the campus to return to the Pokémon Center. Fortunately, no more trouble came their way on the return trip, perhaps because they took a long route to avoid Main Street. Ciel and Brent agreed that, the moment they got back to the Center, they'd get started. Both would be ready for anything when Saturday rolled around, and together they'd face the showdown of a lifetime.

* * *

 **That's right, the next bunch of chapters are going to cover a tournament arc. Couldn't be shōnen-esque media if it didn't have a tournament arc, right? It won't overstay its welcome, I promise. It's no Chūnin Exams, first of all.**

 **Meanwhile, this was admittedly somewhat of a transitory chapter where a lot of character plots over the next however long are being set up. As I've alluded to before, I'm a believer in "strategic filler", and this chapter was a cool-down from the Slowpoke Well stuff and a shift into to more character-centric storytelling. I pray no one is angry at me for skipping the Bugsy battle and Ilex Forest, since I didn't feel that either were necessary. Some gyms will receive a lot of attention (like Violet) and some will get very little.**

 **I'll try to keep my author's notes shorter and less rambly since it artificially inflates my word count. My work for the semester is starting to ramp up, so I'll try to keep a two-week update schedule or as close as possible, but I can't guarantee anything. Thanks for being patient if you've been following for a bit.**

 **Next time is Chapter 12: Welcome to a Bigger World! See you soon!**


	12. Welcome to a Bigger World

**This story is co-developed and edited by Titan127.**

 **Disclaimer: Pokémon is a registered property of Nintendo, the Pokémon Company, and GameFreak. This work respectfully uses the world and characters of the Pokémon series, with no intent of harm on the original creators. Please support the official releases of the Pokémon franchise.**

 **Chapter 12: Welcome to a Bigger World (6,676 words)**

* * *

Quick scribbling in his notebook between exercises was all the rest he had time for. The minute he finished, they were back at it again. This time, he'd to try something new.

"Arden, follow closely. Ignite as hard as you can, and then use Defense Curl!"

Contrary to his own prior perception, the moves used by various Pokémon weren't universal in the way they were executed. Thunderbolt, for example, was the colloquial term for any high-power, focused bolt of electricity used by a Pokémon. Thundershock, on the other hand, was a less focused attack using a short jolt. Each Pokémon used moves differently based on their biology and current control over their body's energy-conductive systems and organs.

With that in mind, he was attempting to replicate a move he read about in a book from the Azalea Library with some ingenuity of his own. Arden's flame sacs fired at full capacity, spreading heat and flame licks everywhere, before the small mammal curled in on himself with the ignition maintained. Now for the finishing touch.

"Flame Wheel!" ordered Ciel.

Kicking off with his back legs, Arden streaked across the grounds as a flaming boulder. Brent's Sentret stood in the attack's path and bounded high, letting Arden roll directly underneath him. Without its original target to stop its motion, Ciel's Pokémon slammed into the opposite wall and sprayed flames in every direction as his ignition dissipated.

Ciel and his friend both winced. "Ouch…" The Fire-type had collided with the wall headfirst. After rushing over to console Arden and giving him a pass to stop for the day, he scribbled down in his notebook. _Need to think of a better way to stop._

In the evening, Ciel enjoyed time spent with his mother and sister in their high-end, rented suite, and realized just how frugal the Pokémon Center rooms were. How he'd give up memory foam pillows after that was beyond him. He and Laina shared one room with two beds, while their mother took a connecting room. He swore that he could hear another voice whispering through the walls, but he drowned that thought out. It wasn't worth thinking about.

In the evening, much of his time was spent regaling his sister about his adventures through southern Johto. Her eyes sparkled with wonder and it brought him a lot of joy to tell his stories, knowing that she admired him as a role model.

After they had eaten out for dinner that first night, their mother brought back enough groceries to get them through the duration of their stay. Even if they were only there for a week, having food in the suite almost made it feel like home. That night, he and Laina shared a more casual evening, munching on simple sandwiches while they wasted away in front of the TV together. Again, he was reminded of his days back home. But then, he realized, they _were_ home.

The second day, he prioritized Raven, whom Ciel realized had been getting the least action of his entire team since their first battle with Falkner. Reasonably so, since she surpassed his remaining Pokémon due to training before his journey began, but she had just as much room to improve as Arden, Clovis, or Hector.

He circled around his partner to examine her. Raven's primary attack, or at least the one he defaulted to, was Slash, a simple but powerful swipe of her natural sickle weapon. However, there had to be some way of harnessing her Dark-type to make it more powerful.

From what he gathered in reading, a Pokémon's primary source of attack power was internal energy reserves and pathways. Biologically speaking, that was the primary trait that separated Pokémon and humans, aside from all Pokémon laying eggs rather than having live births. By diverting this energy from other systems, they could use it to perform battle moves at the expense of tiring faster than they would normally. Special attacks were created when this energy was expelled from the body in various forms, while physical attacks augmented muscles with this energy to increase their power, and the various forms of that energy—in addition to shared physical traits and battle performance—determined a Pokémon or a move's type classification.

The two of them had been trying, and struggling, to unlock that energy throughout their time in Goldenrod. Despite a lack of previous success, Ciel urged her on. "Raven, I need you to focus. Focus as hard as you can. Direct your power to your sickle."

His partner shot him a glare, but ultimately conceded to try. She contracted her muscles heavily, not intimately aware of how to harness her internal reserves yet. Nothing had happened, just like the last few times they tried this exercise.

"Keep focused. Imagine all your power isolated in one spot, and that there's a big Pokémon right in front of you. A giant, mean Pokémon, a challenger, that wants to knock you to kingdom come. Remember that Arbok when we first met. Keep trying." Ciel continued his circling while looking for any visual change to write down.

She bared her teeth at the invisible enemy, growling, claws digging into the ground, but nothing yet had happened. Her natural weapon was as plain as ever.

He kneeled in front of her, and the two partners locked eyes. Raven cast an annoyed glance, though whether at him or the lack of progress he didn't know. Time for him to be cheesy. "Raven, I know you can do this. You want to become as powerful as you can, and I know you can. You've been with me the longest, and I believe more than anyone that you are capable."

A spark. A tiny spark of a glowing black flashed across her sickle. She realized too late that it had happened, and as she tried to use its power again, she couldn't. Despite a low, frustrated hiss escaping her throat, she proved it was possible, and that's all that mattered. Ciel told her to relax and scratched the top of her head.

He scribbled down something. _Raven hasn't made the most of her typing yet, but we made some progress today. I'm real proud of her. I don't know how long it'll be until we get the hang of it, though._

The days passed, and his entire team was growing stronger by the second. Clovis and Arden had physically grown larger and larger, which he was told was a tell-tale sign that they were nearing evolution. Now _that_ seemed like an exciting time, and he couldn't wait.

Brent trained alongside him, and during the week, they must have sparred at least twenty times. The older Trainer's Sentret was more agile and dangerous that he could ever have assumed, giving even Raven a worthy challenge against a similar battle style. As he watched the two brawl, he couldn't help comparing it to a choreographed dance where each party swerved, twirled, flipped, dodged, weaved expertly among each other's attacks. It was unfortunate that their teams never had a proper battle and only did training exercises in that period, and he promised himself that he'd give Brent a real challenge once the tournament was said and done. Unless, of course, the tournament itself gave them that opportunity.

As their training concluded that Friday night, he sat in silence with Brent against a wall inside the Pokémon Center. They'd been using some rentable training rooms for most of their practice, giving them a quiet, open space to do exercises. He finished the last of his notes for the day and stashed the book away.

"You think you're ready for this, Ciel?" his friend asked.

That was a difficult question to answer. He wasn't a professional, but he certainly wasn't a novice either. It had been two and a half months of travel and training since he left Mahogany and began his journey from New Bark. He had no way of truly knowing what was enough, but his heart provided an answer for him. "Yeah I think I'm ready."

"This'll be the first truly big event for either of us as Trainers. The first step to accomplishing a dream." The excitement in his voice was palpable as he played with one of his exhausted partner's floppy ears.

"No." Ciel had a different thought. "We took the first step a while ago. We're already well on the way there."

With that, they parted ways, and soon after Ciel returned to his family's hotel room, he slept the night away. He thought he'd be restless like he was before his first gym battle, but this time, he was ready to face whatever was ahead.

* * *

"Hurry up, Ciel, we're going to be late!"

Ciel found himself in full sprint, weaving through the early morning bustle of Goldenrod to make up lost time. They needed to make their way to the Coalition War Memorial Stadium and _fast._ For some reason he could only undersleep or oversleep for big events, and in his opinion, one of the two was a worse option. His sister followed closely behind him.

They booked it as hard as possible across twelve city blocks, even ignoring crosswalks and traffic cycles and braving the congested streets. That early on a Saturday meant no one was there for work, which meant that everyone was there for…

The Fauder siblings stood in awe of the stadium. In the various lots before them, vehicles circled like Mandibuzz looking for prey. Hundreds of thousands of pedestrians were all walking in a single direction, towards the gargantuan, gold-paneled structure. Industrial-grade lighting fixtures rose from above the circular building's rim, ready to light up the event come the evening.

Ciel checked his new Poké GEAR. "8:52," he said. "We've got eight minutes to get inside."

"Well, what are you waiting for?" asked his younger sister, who shoved his back and got him moving forward at full speed again. "Mom's probably already inside!"

After fumbling through the parking lot, getting shouted at by people they bumped and pushed around and honked at by vehicles they cut in front of, the siblings arrived at the front gate and the veritable mass of people trying to get inside. Above the entrance, two signs hung down, reading "participants" and "spectators."

Ciel grabbed his sister's wrist and pulled her along with him towards the participants' side. Regardless of the distinction, he couldn't leave her to sit by her lonesome while he participated. A line hundreds long begged to enter the participants side, and he was lucky that he found himself at the front only a minute before the scheduled closing. A tournament official scanned his Trainer card and whisked him inside, and after he explained the situation with his mother present as a Gym Leader, Laina was free to enter as well.

However, he and his sister separated soon after. As he was led along the interior tunnels of the stadium, another official pointed out an entrance towards the guest seating, and he sent his sister along with them to find his mother, who was undoubtedly getting situated. She'd left the hotel a while before them. Ciel told his sister he loved her and the two waved goodbyes, leaving him alone.

The mass of Trainers, all ready to participate in the tournament, was funneled through the underground passages that circled and looped around the underneath of the stadium. After a few twists and turns, he and the other thousand-some contestants around him were brought to a brightly lit exit. Ciel stepped outside into a bigger world.

Possibly the entire Trainer population of Goldenrod, the surrounding cities, the Johto region, and beyond stood clustered on the open green of the stadium. Rays of the rising sun peeked over one edge of the structure's high walls, leaving a sizable portion of the lower area still cast in shadow. It seemed as if everyone was waiting for an announcement.

High in the stadium, standing upon a podium extending from the seats, was a fierce looking old woman. "Hello," she began curtly, "I'm Arin Ryokuna, the tournament director. Let's get down to our first order of business." Her voice boomed across the arena, and she continued without missing a beat. "According to my headcount, there are over twelve-hundred people here. Anyone without two or more Gym Badges, _get out_."

The crowd looked around and murmured. O one moved. He thought that was a listed requirement to enter, not some hidden prerequisite. And moreover, she said it without any level of remorse or condolences, like a drill instructor laying into recruits at attention.

"You heard me! Get going and stop wasting our time! And, yes, Trial Stamps are fine for the Alolans among you."

Slowly, the crowd thinned out. He estimated that half the crowd disappeared, each sulking participant returning through the entranceway from which they made their way out. That many people didn't have two Gym Badges? He found it nearly unbelievable, especially since most looked older than he was.

"Next on the chopping block," the old woman sang. She sat comfortably on her pedestal, head in her chin, as if she enjoyed watching people turn away in shame. "Those of you with two or fewer Pokémon in their possession can also extricate yourselves."

He sighed in relief, glad that he fit another condition. More confused murmuring sparked an annoyance in the woman. "It means leave, you idiots! Turn around and don't come back, because the crowd isn't going to enjoy you embarrassing yourselves." Soon after, another half of the crowd disappeared, thinning the people among the stadium considerably. A dread rose in the back of his mind when he realized that Brent didn't fit that condition. He only had a Sentret and a Magikarp, but Ciel couldn't spot him anywhere amongst the standing or retreating Trainers.

"Lastly, and my personal favorite, anyone who has never caught a wild Pokémon before, you are free to go. We can check your PC records during the tournament, so don't think that your pure-bred darlings from mommy and daddy will excuse your lack of experience in the wilderness."

Once again, another half cleared out. He could see unifying factors among most of those Trainers—nice suits, fancy dresses, expensive-looking watches, the works. Was there really an entire Trainer subset of spoiled rich kids? The remaining crowd was probably only one-tenth of the initial size.

The woman paced back and forth on the pedestal, checking a clipboard. "If my estimates are correct, that should leave about seven rounds of you, give or take. And don't you worry," she said, before leveling at the crowd, "their families can get refunds. Probably. The remainder of you, head back into the lower waiting levels. You have an hour to get situated and someone will come around to assign you participant numbers. Get to it."

She began to descend from her place on high, before stopping in her tracks, as if remembering something she had almost forgotten. She turned back to the crowd. "Oh, and, welcome to the Goldenrod Showdown. Have fun."

As he and the remaining crowd returned to the waiting holds, soon enough, tournament aids rushed amongst the crowds and passed out identification tags. The one Ciel received was pushed upon him unceremoniously. They were strung up as necklaces, so he slipped it over his head. He adjusted the card so it sat visible across his chest. His number was 123. "Huh. Like my birthday," he noted, absentmindedly.

All around him, Trainers released their Pokémon from containment and the waiting hold became alive with hundreds of partners in battle. Creatures both familiar and completely foreign filled the area. A Doduo began making tracks around the floor, while a Hoppip, or maybe it was Skiploom, he couldn't remember, floated joyfully into the sky. One of the weirdest that he had never seen was what looked like a pair of car keys floating in the air. He had to blink to ensure he wasn't seeing things.

"Harumph! The nerve of that woman," projected someone nearby with a fancy accent. It was a young woman in an expensive fur coat and sunglasses that hid her face. Her active Pokémon looked as puffy as its Trainer, but he couldn't identify the blue, avian creature wrapped in… cotton? "Luckily, you were a wild catch, little cutie. My perfect darling."

Ciel was about to release his own team to confer, but two people approached him, and as he turned to greet them, his face lit up. "Hey, you guys!"

Ethan and Lyra stood before him, each sporting their own respective tournament numbers, 91 and 117. Ethan had tied his red jacket around his waist—probably to stave off the summer heat—revealing a simple black shirt underneath. His companion had replaced the bulbous hat she previously wore with a comically oversized sun hat.

"How've you been, Ciel?" asked Gold. He was beaming, as was the tan-colored creature in his arms.

"I'm doing alright, but that little guy looks like he's drunk on life," Ciel said, waving his finger in front of the creature. It followed the extremity and attempted to grab it much like a human baby. "Your egg finally hatched?"

He smiled wide. "Yep! Her name's Crown, because of her crown. Isn't she a cutie? Yes she is, yes she it." He devolved into baby-speak at the end.

"It's nice to see you again," said Lyra, taking over after her friend began playing with the baby Pokémon. "I see you have a Poké GEAR now. You should give me your phone number so we can keep in touch."

"Huh?" he looked at his wrist, almost forgetting the new device. It would take some time to get used to having the convenience. "Sure, let me pull it up." The two Trainers exchanged numbers, giving Ciel his first contact besides his mother. "So, how was your time in Azalea Town? I actually got lost before I arrived, so you guys should have caught up to me, but I never saw you around."

Lyra's head seemed to droop. "Oh, that's…" she trailed off.

"Did something happen?"

They explained. While he was training in preparation to take on the Azalea Gym, both local and national news had been focusing on one story: The Well Incident. The criminal organization called Rocket, which he thought was defunct, conducted a massive poaching operation of Slowpoke in Azalea's historic Slowpoke Well. And these two got themselves involved?

"Wait, you mean you _fought_ the Rockets?" he asked, incredulously. "That's dangerous as hell."

"I was impulsive and went to explore what was happening and it landed us in a lot of trouble," said the girl. "If we hadn't gotten lucky with that egg hatching, who knows what would have happened."

One thought came to his mind first. "Are you two alright? Are you hurt?"

"We're fine, mostly. My Marill has a nasty scar in his side, though." She stared into the floor with a gloomy expression.

"I should have been there," Ciel said. He felt himself grow angry, not at someone else but at himself. While he was lounging away and going about his business, two of his friends had risked themselves to try to save Pokémon. If his goal was to protect people, he let himself down by not being part of that and making sure they weren't hurt.

"Nah, we were all fine and dandy," said Ethan, who tried to deflect his concern. "We had some help. Remember that thief that stole the Professor's Pokémon?"

Ciel snapped back to reality. "He helped you? Didn't really seem like the type to offer himself up."

"He has some bone to pick with the Rockets, and Lyra blackmailed him. That did the trick, and now he follows us around." Ethan said that nonchalantly without any shame.

Lyra, looking offended, punched him in the arm. "Don't say it like that! You make me sound like a villain, Gold."

He raised an eyebrow. Gold?

Lyra must have noticed the confused expression on his face. "Oh, right. Ethan over here insisted that we have nicknames because Silver is traveling with us. He's Gold, and I'm Crystal. It's kind of stupid, though after using it a while I'll concede that it does sound cool."

Ciel rolled the two names off his tongue a few times. Gold and Crystal. It'd take some getting used to, but he agreed. They did sound cool.

Suddenly, the waiting area of the stadium came alive with flames. A wave of heat rushed past them, forcing the three Trainers to turn towards its source. Ciel's eyes tracked upwards as he took in the body of an adult, fully evolved Pokémon. Powerful, triple-clawed legs connected to a sleek but bulky orange body. A muscular tail whipped around, and on its tip, a healthy flame burned bright. Wings made of blue membrane sprouted from its back, and its neck lead into an angled snout. The entire creature was reptilian in nature, covered in fine scales that looked both smooth as well as strong.

The Charizard let out an earth-shaking roar before once again firing a Flamethrower directly into the air. As the billowing flames hit the ceiling, they rushed outward, sprinkling the other Trainers in licks of flame. Ciel pulled Gold and Crystal out of the way of the flames as various other Trainers shouted in fear and protest at the display.

"That's enough, Zara! Don't torch the whole place, you goof, or else we won't have anywhere to battle."

Standing beside the awe-inspiring creature and dwarfed by its size was an energetic, blonde-haired girl. She held a chastising finger at the draconic Pokémon. Ciel watched in both confusion and amazement as it bowed its head to the short leader. She turned towards some of the other people in the waiting area. "Sorry, everyone. I didn't mean to scare you! My partner is just exercising her throat muscles."

Ciel didn't consider that a consolation for almost being torched. He turned back to his friends, only to notice that Ethan's eyes were wide and sparkling, copied by the Togepi in his arms. He gasped a long breath before breaking off into a sprint over to the girl and her dragon. Immediately, he and Lyra—err, Crystal—were chasing after him.

He was all over her the minute he crossed into her area. Eth—Gold frantically circled around the Charizard, haphazardly poking it out of curiosity while rambling questions and observations under his breath. "How much does she weigh? How'd she get so muscular? You're her Trainer, right? That is the coolest thing I have ever seen in my entire life!" The towering reptilian Pokémon was growing annoyed and Ciel was afraid that she would torch Gold to a crisp if his pestering continued.

"Hey, hey, back off, will you? Personal space, you know?" the girl asked, mirroring her Pokémon's irritation. Upon closer inspection, her hair was a sandy color, having a nigh-imperceptible reddish tint.

Lyra walked up and grabbed Ethan by the collar, dragging him away from the Pokémon. "Get over here, you idiot."

The newcomer sighed and then waved it off. "No, I think I get it. My partner's a real beacon for attention sometimes, and I had the same reaction the first time I saw a fully evolved Pokémon like this. Nice to meet you guys! My name's Christine, but you can call me Kris."

"I'm Ciel Fauder," he offered, waving.

"I'm Lyra, but I guess I'm Crystal now," his friend said. The other boy's head was drooping as he remained leashed by the collar. "This idiot here is Ethan-slash-Gold. Nice to meet you."

The girl had a sudden change in demeanor. Though she seemed calm before, it was replaced by a burning passion. She ran her hands backwards through her hair and let it fly free and messy in every direction. Without warning, the girl leaped high into the air, more that he would have thought possible, her arms extended diagonally with her fists closed. Her partner roared in complement.

"I'm really fired up right now! I don't know about you guys, but I'm super ready for this tournament!" she shouted as she landed from her jump. "It's getting my blood pumping just thinking about who I can test my skills against."

Ethan was the first to join her and looked up from his misery, pumping one fist in front of himself with his other arm holding Crown like a Unovan football. "Yeah! Right there with you, person who's name I already forgot!"

"Ahem," Crystal sounded, bringing everyone to attention. "Well, it was nice meeting you, Christine, but we should probably get back to get our teams ready. See you in the tournament." She dragged Gold away someplace where they could get prepared.

For most of the conversation, Ciel found himself unknowingly staring at the girl. Something about her struck a tinge of familiarity in him. Had he seen her someplace before? He'd seen Bunches of famous Trainers on television or in magazines, but she didn't quite fit anyone he'd seen. A shout from Crystal snapped him out of it, and he concluded that it was probably nothing. Probably.

A shadow cast over him slowly and he turned around to face a gargantuan figure of a man. Ciel wasn't short, far from it, but even at his height, he was forced to bend backwards to meet his face. A flowing mane of hair surrounding his head transitioned into a beard and had a similar blonde-red combination, but leaning more towards the red. If he had to guess…

"Big brother!" Kris called.

"Is this guy bothering you?" he asked in a gruff, but still youthful, voice.

"What? No!" she denied. "He was just interested in my Pokémon, is all. No need to be overprotective, Saber. I can take care of myself, thank you very much."

Ciel returned his attention to the man, only to receive a death glare in return. A bead of sweat ran down his cheek. He seemed to lean over even further, and he could feel the oppression of the large man's figure in his bones.

Then, unexpectedly, he leaned down _even further._ He bent at the waist into a complete bow. "Then I apologize profusely for the accusation, Trainer! I am Sebastian Masuta, but you may call me Saber!" He put his arm forward to offer a handshake while his torso was still parallel to the floor.

Hesitantly, Ciel took the hand and shook it. It was _firm_ , nearly crushing his own, smaller hand within, but there was a friendliness about it. The man, Saber, shot up to full height and walked over to his sibling, then ignoring him completely. He supposed that was as good a time as any to excuse himself to a team meeting with his Pokémon.

Something sprung to his mind. Masuta? That name sounded familiar

* * *

Silver nestled himself as far away from everyone else as he could in the stands of the stadium. A comfy, partially blocked corner seat called to him in the highest part of the stadium, though why the architects would ever place a chair where the view is obstructed by a wall was beyond him. He wouldn't complain if it meant he could stay away from everyone. He tucked himself into the oversized hoodie for extra measure.

As far as the police were concerned, he was still a wanted criminal, but because she reported to that Professor that she found his starter, no one was actively looking for him anymore. He hated that now he was indebted to her. But at the same time, he preferred not being in a jail cell to the alternative.

How the hell had he convinced himself any of this was a good idea? In that moment, outside the well, he persuaded himself somehow that their battle skill was worth putting up with them, and the girl's "kindness" was easy enough to take advantage of. But now here he was, still without Pokémon of his own, no closer to taking down the Rocket Syndicate, having to put up with their mindless distraction at this stupid-ass tournament. There wasn't any reason for him to subject himself to this. None. Absolutely nothing.

The crowd among the stands began to quiet their blabbering and he knew the ceremony was starting. A person, a woman maybe, stepped out onto the inner field where tournament authorities had hastily set up eight elevated battle platforms. Before her, emerging from the catacombs of the stadium, the hundred-plus participants appeared. Silver grabbed his ears as microphone ringing blared around the arenas, but that soon passed as the speech began.

"Ladies, gentlemen, and the variations thereupon… welcome to the Goldenrod Showdown!"

The tens of thousands of people in attendance exploded into cheers. Giant display screens tethered to the edges of the stadium flashed with bright colors to display event graphics and logos. Once the spectators quieted, the woman proceeded.

"For those unaware of the rules, this is a single-elimination, three-on-three restricted battle competition. That means that no items are allowed during battles, participants cannot switch Pokémon with the purpose of avoiding an attack, and a single loss removes you from the bracket, with the sole exception of the semifinal losers, who will battle each other for the third and fourth place spots." As she was speaking, the jumbotrons flashed with infographics matching her verbal information.

"In addition, participants are drawn randomly during each round and before each match using a random-number generator, so no participant will have any advanced knowledge on who they are facing or what Pokémon they use. The final total for participants is 127," she said, holding a pause. "Participant number 127, one Moe Jūyō, enjoy your bye for this round, sweetie." The woman waved sarcastically. "Because of the volume of participants, today will compose of the first two rounds and we'll run for about five hours, sparing an hour break for lunch and festivities after the conclusion of the first round."

As the woman spoke, Silver curiously stared down into the pit of the arena, seeing if he could locate the two Trainers he was technically there to spectate. Dumb hat, dumb hat, dumb hat… "There," he noted to himself, eyes landing on the girl's dumb hat. The annoying boy next to her was jumping around enough to also be visible from his distance.

"I will now begin announcing the first-round participants. In the first match, participants 27 and 70. In the second, 11 and 21. Third, 48 and 8. Fourth, 2 and 73. Fifth, 123 and 40. Sixth, 91 and 13. Seventh, 61 and 82. And eighth is 89 and 3. These matches will occur simultaneously." With a resounding clap, the woman brought her hands together, resonating through the microphone across the stadium. "Get to it!"

Narrowing his eyes, he could see the dumb hat beginning to move towards one of the platforms and he matched it with the match displayed on the screen above. Ninety-one and thirteen. If anything, he was obligated to watch her battle if it could give him any insight on how to get more powerful. She had to have some secret, right?

He sank further into his hoodie. This was all a big waste of time. He was sure of that.

* * *

Ciel's heart threatened to pound through his chest as he ascended to the battle platform. To his left and right, he saw Trainers lining up one after another on each side of their respective arenas. People with crazy uncommon hair colors surprised him, and he was reminded that this event wasn't limited to the people in Johto. No, this was a worldwide event, and he was on stage. He fought back against the shaking and sweating and buzzing and shivering going on inside him. His team had to impress, and he wasn't about to back down from that challenge.

Three-on-three meant one of his Pokémon was benched, which would be an easy choice. Hector, while powerful, had the least training of his entire team as well as the lowest mobility. Without any terrain to take advantage of on a flat, standardized battle arena, the Rhyhorn had little chance.

Participant 40 emerged over the opposite end of the battlefield, landing a pair of spurred boots onto the raised floor. A distinct jingle of metal parts caught Ciel's attention, but not more than the lasso curled and secured on his belt.

"Howdy, mister," said the boy, projecting his voice to be heard over the spectators. Judging by the voice, he was older than Ciel by a year or two. "I'm an apprentice Pokémon ranger from Unova. I bet y'all don't have those in this here region. The name's Clyde Hazaar Westwood, and I'm up to bein' the best ranger to ever live."

Ciel felt himself grinning at the ambition. He clutched his first Poké Ball. "You've got a lofty goal, and I've got one of my own. Whoever wins is the one that wants it more. I'm Ciel Verglas Fauder."

"Huh," the country boy sounded. "Ya' look Johtoan 'cept the hair, but yer name don't sound it."

"I've been told," Ciel replied. "You ready to get started?"

"As you'll find, 'See-ehl', I'm always ready for a nice battle."

"Before we begin," shouted the voice of the tournament director through a crackling microphone, "I would like to introduce our special guests for this event. Would all in attendance direct their attention to the club seating below the luxury boxes." The entire crowd quieted as every head in the arena turned towards the VIPs. Their larger-than-life presences were astounding, and Ciel couldn't believe he would have the chance not only to be close to some of the greatest Pokémon experts in the region, but also flaunt his skills to those same people.

"Visiting from Kanto and considered the world's greatest authority on Pokémon behavioral science and Pokémon-human relationships, Professor Samuel Oak!"

The cameras feeding to the jumbotron focused on a man with a sharp, yet friendly, face who wore a lab coat. He was somewhat plain-looking, but Ciel knew he was well-respected globally as a scientist. He'd even read textbooks authored by the man for some high school courses. Next to him in the stands was a twenty-something Trainer with spiky, dirty-orange hair.

"I'd also like to introduce another out-of-region guest, Siebold Narcisse, member of the Kalos Elite Four. He was on business in here in Johto to prepare meals for a ceremonial summit between the Indigo and Global Pokémon Leagues. So, welcome to our fine competition, Chef Narcisse."

A gaudy looking man in a suit, or possible apron, or possibly both, bowed formally to the audience. The look about his face, if Ciel were to judge, was uppity. The kind of person he would find insufferable to speak to. As the director rattled off a few more facts about the man, he adjusted the cuffs on his sleeves and then sat back down.

"And, of course, how could we forget our own national figures, representing the best our citizenry has to offer? I introduce to the region, and to the world, the Gym Leaders of Johto!" Nine Trainers stood from their seats and the crowd went ballistic. The Trainers that were considered the pinnacle of the region's ability, those that would represent the major cities of Johto as leaders and as Trainers. He felt as much respect for them as any person could, especially the blue-haired man who had helped teach him and overcome his first challenge. But, he felt his heart sank as he recognized how many were standing.

"I bring special attention to Pryce Yanagi, our beloved former Gym Leader of Mahogany, who retired this year." The wizened Trainer remained seated at the feet of the two who replaced him. "And it is my honor to give the first national introduction to the brilliant couple who succeeded Pryce's legacy, Kori and Daku Fauder!"

The crowd clapped a drowning applause, eyes fixated on the robed woman and her blond partner. He couldn't tear his own eyes away, but for a different reason. Ciel knew he'd be there. There was no reason he wouldn't, but he held out some stupid hope that the man wouldn't be there to watch him. As he leveled his eyes at his parents, he saw his father returning the gaze.

That no-good, worthless man. Deep down, Ciel had enjoyed being so far away as he traveled through Johto, not having to live in the same vicinity as the person he hated most. Maybe that was the reason he came to such a hasty decision to leave in the first place, even if it meant leaving Laina alone with him. The young Trainer's blood boiled at the thought that she could have been hurt in the time he'd been gone, and he cursed himself for running away.

"—the two most famous Trainers worldwide to commence our first battles of the tournament!"

What? The director had continued to speak while he turned to his inner thoughts and he missed everything but the last bit. Two people appeared high above the arena on the same platform that old woman had used to trim the participants. They were barely even two people. They were legends.

An explosive hair of deep-red complementing a billowing blue cape. Alluring platinum blonde over an outfit of deep black. Ciel couldn't believe it. For the first time in his entire life, he was seeing in the flesh the living gods at the top of their world. Among tens of thousands of people, their auras, their shared presence, their sheer existence snuffed out everything else.

Ciel was aiming to be a great Trainer. He wanted to protect those he loved and to have the power to bring joy to those people. In front of him stood the model of that achievement. Those two Trainers who stood above almost all else in fulfilling their dreams. Cynthia and Lance Masuta. One, the champion of Sinnoh, respected archaeologist, mythologist, and political ambassador. The other, the champion of the Indigo Plateau, legendary hero, and current master of Johto's elusive "Dragon Clan."

Cynthia's voice around the arena brought everyone to a standstill as she grabbed the microphone. "It is my every honor to be able to be here today to preside over the next generation of Trainers. You all have my best wishes in battle and in life. Some of you will leave here today under the expectant eyes of training agencies the world over. Others will leave with valuable knowledge in spite of loss and a raised ground from which to climb higher than ever before. Yet still, almost all of you will exit this stadium with rivals, friends, and new allies who will encourage you to push your limits into the beyond!"

As she spoke, Ciel noticed the four edges of his arena light up with an azure glow. The light rocketed to the sky, surround his and every other arena present with nigh-imperceptible reflective energy barriers. A referee took position inside the new boundary.

Lance jumped off directly where his partner ended. "Today you will display both your strength as a team as well as your mental fortitude. Only true power is created when Trainer and team think as one and channel the battling instinct locked inside us all. It is what makes us truly feel alive. It is what allows us to see beyond life into a new unknown!"

Ciel turned to his first opponent, feeling the energy of their words empower his body. The apprentice ranger appeared the same, as if channeling the presence of the two legendary Trainers. Their effect on people was indescribable. Ciel knew for sure that he would battle with everything he had.

Cynthia and Lance began alternating. "Take to the skies!" echoed the woman. "Fire towards the stars!" shouted the man.

Ciel clenched his first Poké Ball by his side and he could feel his partner inside raring to go.

The two legendary Trainers joined their voices as one. With a final resounding cry, they announced to the Trainers their command.

" _Battle begin!"_

* * *

 **And so, the Goldenrod Showdown begins!**

 **According to my outline, was supposed to end this chapter at the halfway point in Ciel and Lyra's first round battles, but I didn't want to push it into the insane length like some of the previous, so I'll be doing something tricky next time to avoid adding an additional chapter. Plus, I really liked the mood the final scene ended on and thought it would be a fitting conclusion.**

 **Still no news on Pokémon 2019, which I hoped would be alluded to in the recent Nintendo Direct. Oh well. I guess we'll have to wait for a Pokemon-specific presentation in the coming months to figure out when that is, but I'm excited, nonetheless.**

 **Since I just so happened to read one while procrastinating editing this chapter, I'd like to give some extra advertising to Nekoama, a webcomic artist who creates a fun Pokémon strip called "Lil' Char and the Gang." You can find them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, and Imgur. This isn't a paid promotion, I just really like their content and though some other people might enjoy it if unfamiliar.**

 **Next time! Multiple fast-paced battles, foreshadowed family drama, more of Silver's abrasive personality, and probably the Rockets! It's Chapter 13: Sides of a Western Coin. See you around!**


	13. Sides of a Western Coin

**This story is co-developed and edited by Titan127.**

 **Disclaimer: Pokémon is a registered property of Nintendo, the Pokémon Company, and GameFreak. This work respectfully uses the world and characters of the Pokémon series, with no intent of harm on the original creators. Please support the official releases of the Pokémon franchise.**

 **Chapter 13: Sides of a Western Coin (7,355 words)**

* * *

You fucked up now, man.

 _You fucked it up so hard._

As he sat on the receiving end of what looked like an intervention, Proton could only replay in his mind how hard he had fucked up. The Slowpoke Well operation had gone so smoothly up until those idiot kids decided to butt in, and for some baffling reason, they managed to knock out every grunt the Boss had lent him. He wasn't sure anyone besides himself and the enforcer devil got away before the police arrived and had their way.

That's what this was about, he was sure. The Boss took drags on her cigar in silence, not yet moving to initiate the trial. Archer stood firm beside her desk, his smug face and blue hair looking impeccable as ever, while Petrel, the purple-haired bastard, leaned his crooked back against a nearby wall. All the eyes were on him. Despite not being very powerful, at that moment, the lights of the Boss's office were blinding.

Ariana tapped her stogie on an ashtray to signal for attention. "I believe it's time we rated your recent performance, Proton."

Fuck. Fuck. _Fuck._ He was going to die.

"According to Agent Vampire's report, you shipped around 600 to 800 Slowpoke tails and kept the job running for about a week. Fifteen of our men were arrested, leaving only you, Vampire, and the drivers and boat workers who were away from the well when the police arrived."

" _I'm not sure Ariana would appreciate you not taking responsibility, Proton."_

He waited for her to say it and to put a barrel to his head. He'd tried to bargain to himself and throw the rest of the organization under the bus, and the worst part is, if they'd asked him where the Rockets had their secret headquarters, he probably would have told them. He'd panicked and only thought of himself, and all it took to shut him and his grunts down was a couple of dumb kids.

"I believe congratulations are in order," the Boss said. "Well done."

He suddenly looked upwards, sweat beading from around his forehead. "W-what?" he stammered.

Archer had a contemplating look about his face, as if weighing all possible outcomes. "Under the circumstances, it was far from terrible. You made the most of the manpower we provided, and because we provided so little, the gain outweighs the loss."

He was dumbfounded. "We got caught and lost fifteen guys! How could we—" He cut himself off and quickly slapped a hand over his mouth, afraid he'd ruin his chances by speaking out of line.

"Tsk, tsk, Proton. It seems that you don't fully understand how the Syndicate works yet," the Boss said while puffing and twirling her hair. "The goal isn't to work efficiently or even to look out for each other. We make as much money as we can, and by the time one operation is chewed up by the authorities, we're already initiating the next five. And fortunately for you, you've made us quite a lot of money."

She slapped some figures in front of him, though they didn't surprise him. Suckers with lots of money the world over were willing to pay millions to eat a single tail for a fancy meal, even if they tasted no better than legally edible Pokémon. That restaurant in Orre must have been booming.

"And, of course, a large cut of that is yours. We can wire payments to your account over time to avoid suspicion, or we can just provide cash," said Archer. He ran a hand through his hair. Obviously, his slick look was a priority.

The payment didn't matter to him in that moment because the fear hadn't subsided. Instead, it had shifted. He tried his hardest to prevent his outward appearance from showing how utterly unnerved he was, but he was nowhere near in the clear. Agent Vampire, Sird, the woman had spared from the Boss that one little detail. He knew it wasn't out of good will. She wasn't that kind of person. Wherever she was now, she was probably maniacally laughing to herself.

The purple-haired woman now had something to hold over him. If Ariana knew he stepped out of line and was about to give her up, she'd shove a gun barrel so far down his throat the bullet would come out the other end. Sird had his death sentence in the palm of her hand, and it meant that working with the Rockets had become far more dangerous. Even worse, he feared that crazy bitch would strongarm him into doing her own dirty work, and he'd be helpless to do anything about it.

"We're going to need your assistance again, and this time, you'll be taking more of your preferred role. Security, planning, and whatnot."

He hesitantly agreed, feeling that his hidden mistake gave him little choice. "I'll do whatever you need."

"That's good, Proton, because our next target is going to be the most difficult heist in the history of this entire organization."

Both Petrel and Proton seemed to know in advance what it was. Petrel, the scoliotic, spoke up for the first time that meeting, but it was hardly a grumble. Something in clear disagreement. The Boss took one final drag on her cigar before crushing the flame in the tray.

"Gentlemen, it's time we set our sights on the Indigo Plateau."

* * *

"Slash!"

"Metal Claw!"

Horn and claw collided a resounding metallic twang. The repeating sound brought his attention to the suspicious absence of any other noise. He spared a few glances to look around past the blue-transparent energy barrier just to confirm that the crowd was still there.

"Aim low, Pawniard," his opponent ordered, his country accent carrying through to his battle commands.

"Parry!" Ciel countered.

The red-black helmeted Pokémon reeled back and swung one bladed appendage towards Raven's leg. The feline Pokémon drew back, and with a quick head tilt, caught the blade against her sickle once again.

Judging by its look, this "Pawniard" could only fight in hand-to-hand—or blade-to-blade—combat. According to one general biology book he'd read, the easiest way for a Trainer to size up an opponent was to quickly notice and cross-reference physical features with Pokémon they had met before. Bladed limbs, a horn, and what looked like an exterior rib cage? Unless any of them could fire out like missiles, there weren't any openings or vents to expel special attacks from. The question of when he'd become such a book nerd interrupted his train of thought before he boarded once again.

While he'd normally rejoice Raven being matched up with someone she could fight on equal footing, it meant that while he wasn't in immediate danger of being barraged at long-range, it would be more difficult to make her mark in her preferred battle style. The Pawniard was matching her blow for blow, obviously as practiced in melee as its opponent. Raven's slender limbs and fur gave her minor protection, but the advantage wasn't notable.

"Retreat back to me, Raven," he called. His partner, eager for the parley with her opponent, hesitated a moment before releasing their locked horn clash and jumping backwards. The sudden lack of resistance sent the short, red and black Pokémon stumbling.

"Well there, 'See-Ehl,' it seems we ain't makin' much progress," announced Westwood. Ciel assumed he was the kind of guy who went by his last name. He stood at a casual posture. "So, where ya from?"

Ciel did a double take as he nearly threw his arm forward and called another attack, only to realize that his opponent's comment wasn't a battle order. The boy kicked out his boot to roll its metal spur along the floor of their arena.

"Err, I'm from here. Goldenrod. Well technically, not from here. I moved away just recently, but I didn't really live there, and now I'm back…" he trailed off, embarrassment in his cheeks. He was so caught off guard he was having trouble.

"Well, as I said, I'm from Unova. We got a lotta cities n' deserts back there, so this Region is a cool change 'a pace. Nice place."

"Why'd you come all the way out here?" Ciel asked him, still unsure of the mid-battle conversation.

"Well, I been in my Region all my life, so I thought it was time for a change. I'm still goin' back to train, but I been traveling to see if I can use my skills elsewhere. Maybe Johto's in need 'a ranger organization to protect wildlife, ya' know?"

By this point, Raven was getting antsy. Ciel spoke in her place. "Shouldn't we get back to… you know…"

"Oh, yeah, yeah," said Westwood. "It's just that battle is a real good place to learn about people, not just Pokémon. I try to savor that. Now, let's go at it!"

"Raven, on the defensive," he said. She bared her sickle, which reflected a gleam.

Westwood snapped his fingers and prepared his assault. "Pawniard, Fury Cutter." Without another hiatus, his Pokémon launched from a standstill, blades empowered with energy, bearing down on its opponent.

The Fury Attack barely glanced off Ray's side. His disc-shaped body had the advantage of throwing off opponents by changing his facing direction.

"He's in range now, use Mega Drain!" commanded Crystal.

Ray stretched his disk-shaped body forward and stuck his superior leaf bundle directly into the fluff of the Swablu. The particles needed to connect with another Pokémon to activate the move, so physically contacting the opposing Pokémon only expedited the process. As quickly as they transferred, the life-draining spots returned to sender.

"My darling! Oh, do please get out of there. I cannot stand to see you hurt, my dear Swablu!" cried the other girl on the field. Wrapped up in her stuffy fur coat, she looked spoiled rotten. And that voice. Shrill, formal, accented, and off-putting. It made Crystal wish the field's energy barriers weren't soundproof so the crowd could drown it out, but then they wouldn't be able to command their own Pokémon over the cacophony.

Her Swablu, a fluff-covered blue bird Pokémon with a white beak, gently floated away from Ray, as if lighter than the air itself. It didn't appear damaged at all by the Mega Drain, so she confirmed her assumption that it was part Flying. However, she wasn't intending for it to be a devastating blow; the connection had allowed Ray to leave tiny seeds within his opponent's fluff, invisible to the other Trainer from this angle.

"Swablu, do stay out of danger, but use Round. Your Trainer, Felicity Everlyne III, commands you," called her Trainer.

Her bird partner matched one grating song with another. The wide movements of damaging soundwaves were almost visible as they washed over Ray. Crystal could see his body squeezing in on itself as it tried to resist, but as the echo of the Round concluded, he was clearly shaken and damaged.

"Use Solar—" she cut herself off, realizing that it was impossible. She and Ray had tried to use the move again before, but without massive amounts of sunlight, he hadn't exercised his natural abilities enough to use Solar Beam with his own power. Gold's Togepi had used Sunny Day down in the well, which is why she was able to use it in a pinch, but it was an overcast morning with even darker clouds rolling in from the distance. Ray didn't have any further role to play since he already seeded his opponent. Crystal held out a Poké Ball. "Ray, switch," she calmly said.

Her opponent held her hands up to her cheeks and gasped. "Is someone running away? And here I thought you the brash, headstrong type!"

She tapped the button and Ray began to dematerialize. "I like to think of myself as rational and calculative," she rebutted. Though, given how quick she was to throw herself into Slowpoke Well, she'd been learning recently how to do the opposite. In one hand, she took hold of the brim of her hat, while the other tossed a Pokémon into battle.

The ball popped open in a flare and his next team member took shape. Arden erupted both figuratively and literally from the capsule and after only a moment of confusion charged against his bladed foe.

"Close in and use Ember!" announced Ciel. "But stay out of the reach of those blades."

His rodent fighter released a fireball from his snout that raced his own momentum forward. The Pawniard tried to dodge, but the speed of the projectile caught the creature's shoulder. The recoil confirmed his guess that the creature was part Steel-type, meaning the switch gave him a powerful advantage. Ciel had only recently begun trying to switch Pokémon during battles, and even after trying multiple times, it was complicated to know who to use when.

His opponent evidently was intent to tough out the sudden tip of the scales. "Normal attacks now, Pawniard, or else we ain't doin' any damage. Slash!"

"Ember again, keep it at a distance!"

The second attack wasn't nearly as accurate and passed right over the Pawniard. It seemed to recognize that the fireballs traveled in a slightly upwards arc, because it kept itself low as it pushed forward. A blade swung around itself.

"Dodge, Arden!"

His active Pokémon attempted to turn around and roll back towards Ciel. However, the Trainer wasn't quick enough on the order, and Arden cried out as the sharp weapon tore a cut into his backside. He tripped on himself and fell to the ground. Arden's opponent stood valiantly above him.

"Knock it out, Pawniard!" commanded Westwood.

There was an opening! With Arden on his stomach and the opponent right on top of him, his flames were face-up and the enemy had mistakenly put itself too close. "Arden, ignite as hard as you can! Full power!"

Summoning his power, Arden's flame sacs burst into overdrive. As the Pawniard swung a blade down for the finishing move, it was engulfed in the sudden, passionate explosion. Both Ciel and Westwood held their breath in anticipation of the fallout, and when the smoke cleared, the Pawniard had collapsed. Arden pulled himself to his feet, declaring himself the victor.

The referee, the only other person in their soundproof space, raised a yellow flag. "Participant 40's Pokémon is unable to battle! Send out your next Pokémon, Participant 40." He kept the flag raised as Westwood recalled his fallen fighter.

"That was mighty intense, 'See-ehl.' Wow. Well, one defeat ain't gonna set me back. You take a good long rest, Pawniard," he said as the beam fully retracted into his capsule, "and let someone else show 'em what for."

Ciel's heart pounded in his chest. He was winning his first ever tournament battle and it was proving difficult to keep his excitement—or nervousness—in check. Arden returned to him in the short liminal period before the next battle. He ignited.

"Whoa, buddy, calm down there," he told his Pokémon as he kneeled. Every excitement-fueled burst of his flaming backside singed at his own wound, and though he found the alternation between squeaking and wincing somewhat funny, he urged his Pokémon to calm down. "You took a big hit there. I think you should rest for the rest of this battle. I'll call you if we need you, alright?" Arden nuzzled his leg, to which he responded with a loving scratch to the head.

He reported his own choice to switch to the referee. "If you switch your Pokémon now, since it's between battles, I will enforce that Participant 40 has the first move. Is this acceptable?"

"Yes, sir," Ciel said.

"Very well." The man held raised his yellow flag until both parties released their new Pokémon. As Westwood's capsule popped open, the materialization beam from his own Poké Ball called out a new teammate. The referee brought down a green flag.

"Maron, use Bubble!"

Bubbles burst against the Swablu's hide, but the cotton coating kept it shielded from major harm. Was it able to resist special attacks, or was Maron's own weak special power notl enough to penetrate it? She supposed it didn't matter.

"It's time we attacked, darling! Use Peck!" commanded Felicity Everlyne III, swinging her arm out within her fur coat.

A beat of the round bird's wings sent it spiraling across the arena. It brandished its beak forward. Crystal wasn't going to advise her partner to dodge, since he needed to be as close as possible to deal any significant return damage. He recognized this himself, as he had his tail planted on the floor and ready to spring to retaliate. The Peck struck Maron in the arm, which he brought up to block. He swatted away the Flying type, but it kept hounding him with jabs.

"Jump and smash downward with Pound!" she yelled.

Her partner mimicked her thought exactly, sprung into the air, and rotated directly down his center axis. His tail's momentum built around the spin and slammed the bird over the head. With a choke of surprise, it impacted the floor of the arena. Fortunately, unlike the last time she pulled this trick, Maron had held back enough not to damage the floor.

"My darling Swablu!" rang a pained cry. "Oh, darling, I can't believe you've been bested so." A red beam swallowed the form of the downed Flying type and recalled it from the field to announce the end of the battle. Crystal watched as Felicity fidgeted in her fur coat. "At least we've tired that poor little vagabond to make it easier for my other beauties."

"First of all, why does everything you say sound patronizing?" She didn't wait for an answer. "Secondly, not quite. Maron's pretty happy and healthy, I think."

Crystal's little trooper flexed his arms to display his condition. Such a proud warrior. He'd been subtly draining energy from the Swablu throughout their battle from the planted Leech Seed and it had evened out most of his physical damage and exhaustion. The seeds had disappeared with the Swablu's dematerialization, but she was still three Pokémon strong, two of them in perfect condition.

Crystal decided to recall Maron and try out her newest team member. With approval from the referee, she lobbed a Poké Ball skyward, releasing a Spinarak onto the field. Felicity replaced her own Pokémon, a pink, egg-shaped creature Crystal recognized as a Happiny.

Once the referee swung his green flag, their battle would begin again. A bead of sweat ran down her cheek, but she wiped it away with confidence. "Penelope, let's get to it." The arachnid Pokémon gently shook her green abdomen in agreement. A green flag was cast.

* * *

Silver had come to regret sitting so far back because the battle was more interesting than he expected. So, he moved a seat upwards. A couple of minutes later, he moved another seat upwards. And then another. And then another.

And then he sat huddled inside his hoodie amidst multiple cheering fans. The evident frown on his face was seen by nobody. It was entirely possible that he'd just stolen his new seat from a poor sap who went to the restroom, but no one called him out for it and everyone was too engrossed watching the various giant screens to care. Good for him.

The girl had pulled out a Spinarak and was dueling against a Happiny, according to the display directly above her battle arena. She and the Pokémon discovered that the energy barriers surrounding the platform were semi-solid and could sustain the Bug-type's webbing. Rather than facing her opponent head on, she'd opted to instruct the Spinarak to construct a makeshift web, hang upside down outside of the opponent's range, and attempt to drip poison on the egg-shaped enemy. It looked like a cartoon as he watched the Happiny scramble about on the floor.

The battle was _interesting,_ yes, but it was also massively stupid.

As he tried to argue with himself internally over whether he was learning something or just wasting away, he looked elsewhere. Up in the V.I.P. box, all the stuck-up League persons watched the battles intently. Ultimately, he hated the League out of principle—he wasn't a fan of bureaucratic triviality and all the Trainer evaluations and vetting processes. It was part of the reason why it took him some time to get a Pokémon after the Rockets kicked him out. That was over two years ago at that point. Three years since that bastard was beaten and up and left.

Huh. One of the Gym Leader seats was vacant. There were eight of them, or nine, since the Mahogany Gym recently replaced one with two. He took a mental tally. A blue-haired man in a gi, a purple haired… person, a blonde twenty-something, a fat muscled guy without a shirt, a short lady in a dress, the Mahogany couple with the previous old geezer, and then that sour-faced blue-haired woman. Wasn't one missing?

Silver noticed some shuffling to his right. Someone in a traditional dress made her way quickly up the stairs of the stands towards the exit. He wondered why she was running for a moment, only to notice shortly after some burly men in black suits and sunglasses wading their way through the occupied seats towards her.

He was already up and running. They looked like Rocket goons, and damn if he was going to let them get away with whatever it was. Both girl and goons disappeared through the passage into the interior of the stadium and he followed. A League salesman trying to extort hundreds in exchange for snacks got in his way. Silver gladly knocked the man aside.

He appeared in the darkened hall. Silver quickly scanned the area until his eyes landed on the two suits running full speed towards the girl. "Stop!" he shouted.

By the time they had turned around at the intruder, his fist was already swinging. It connected with one of the goon's cheek and sent him tumbling to the floor.

The other moved to neutralize him, but he ducked under a massive swing. As tall as he was, Silver was still more agile than the hulking beasts of men he was fighting against. He slammed his heel down into the man's foot, causing him to cry out, and he used that opportunity to bring up his knee. It slammed into the man's gut and he dropped immediately.

Silver returned to the other, who he was sure the punch hadn't knocked out. He reached down, and with one hand grasped to his collar, he pulled his other hand back in a fist. The Rockets should have known better than to show their faces around there. He already issued his warning to Proton, and hopefully that sniveling loser reported up the chain of command. The boy looked vengefully upon the dazed man, sunglasses falling off his face with a bloody nose revealed. Every look on one of the Rockets made him feel sick. Not with disgust, but with rage.

"Wait, stop!" gasped the girl's voice just as Silver was rearing back to knock the man's lights out. "Don't hurt them! They're my retainers, they don't mean any harm!"

Retainers? Silver twiced-over the burly man, confused. He looked no different than a typical member of the Rocket Syndicate. Black suit, belt, sunglasses, the whole look. Sure, he wasn't wearing a giant R across his chest, but when they were out in public, the Rockets weren't looking to be arrested on the spot.

He dropped the man, who released a soft "ow". "So, these are yours?" he said. He found himself disappointed.

"Yes, yes, they're… they're mine," she said. He didn't recognize her, but based on her ornate dress and adornments, she must have been some spoiled rich brat. Who else would need any bodyguards rather than learning to defend themselves?

"Fucking waste of my time, then. I should have known the Rockets wouldn't show themselves at a place like this." Silver shoved his hands into his pockets, tucked some stray locks of his hair back into his hood, and made to get out. It was time for him to ditch the whole tournament so as to not risk getting confronted by security. Not like he was learning anything from the battles anyway.

"Wait!" she called. "I'd just like to thank you for helping me. These men may be my retainers, but they're working against me. My family sent them to come get me and I'd rather not return. You have my humblest gratitude."

"You're crazy if you think I was doing that to be _nice,_ little girl," he said. "I just really, really don't like some people and I thought these two were associates." He surveyed the men he laid out. Neither was trying to get up and one was mumbling about losing his job.

"I don't believe you understand," she said and began to approach.

That tone annoyed him. The same kind of tone and words people say when they think they're stronger and can boss him around. Silver turned to face her with a scowl. She backed off.

"I don't particularly mind your motive or whatever confusion this has caused you. You did the right thing. I'm not trying to thank you for what you didn't do, but rather what you did."

He still didn't like her tone, especially that uppity air about it, but it got his interest enough to get him to relax his shoulders and face. Still, he reclused further into his hoodie, indicating just how much he didn't want to be there.

"May I ask you something, sir?" she asked.

He grumbled under his breath. "Fine."

"How do you do it? How do you see a problem and act in the heat of the moment? Ever since I, umm," the girl pointed to the two downed men, "ran away, I've constantly needed to be saved from troubled situations. While I fled from those two, you fought them head-on."

"I told you, I didn—"

"Shush!" she declared, revealing a surprising authority behind her meek disposition. It must have been that formal lifestyle. "I already said that I don't care what motivated you. I just want to know how you find that motivation. How you put your mind to something and stop running from your problems."

He thought about it for a moment, but ultimately realized he didn't have an answer. Or, rather, the answer was so simple that it was essentially nonexistent. "You just do it." Silver spent years with the Rocket Syndicate, taking orders from Ariana and Giovanni and trying to make something of himself. "One day, it snaps, and you decide that you want it to change." It was only two years ago that he finally had enough and set out on his own. Silver decided that he was sick of trying to prove himself from the inside and that he could do it just as well without their protection. "You might mull over it for a while before, but in the end, you don't actually think about it. You just do it, and you keep doing it. I think that most Trainers can say the same thing."

She stared past him for a while. "I see. We're both imperfect. You've already passed the threshold without knowing how much good you could create, while I can barely step foot over and have to rely on others to pull my weight."

He said nothing.

"Just think about what good you could do, please. I'll think about how to take my step."

Finally, he stepped backwards. "I need to go. I'm missing a match."

The girl giggled. "Of course. I wouldn't want to keep you. I'll go search for medical personnel to help these two gentlemen, and they should leave me be for a while. I'll say that they, err, bumped heads."

Silver made his way back towards the entrance to the stands, leaving behind the dressed girl, hoping he hadn't missed too much of the battle. Fortunately, he spied that dumb hat as soon as it was in view and took another seat.

* * *

"Use Wing Attack!" ordered both Trainers in unison.

With power channeling through their wings, both Ciel and Westwood's flying Pokémon clashed mid-air. The Rufflet landed one across Clovis's chest just as the Pidgey clipped the opponent's head in return. Both immediately grounded rather than risk being knocked out of the sky.

The arena floor wasn't solid material. Filling in the boundaries was a fine gravel, sand, dirt mixture meant to replicate a wild battle, strong enough to stand on but meant to be played with. He could finally take advantage of that fact. "Clovis, Sand Attack!"

His Pidgey kicked up clumps of sand and tossed them across the arena at the rival bird, blanketing it in a cloud of debris.

"Use Peck!" called the Unovan ranger.

The rounded form of his Rufflet broke through the cloud. The sudden break through his distraction caught Clovis off-guard, allowing the round-headed bird to tuck in its wings and jam its beak into Clovis's side. Sand Attack was supposed to make it more difficult for an opponent to land hits by blinding it, but the other Flying-type was unphased.

"People call it Keen Eye." Westwood answered his mental question when the dust cleared. "My Rufflet's got some nice little eye guards, so he ain't likely to be deterred by some sand."

Right. Abilities. Ciel was only vaguely aware of his own Pokémon's natural Abilities. They were difficult to determine without medical examination or activating noticeably in battle. Raven's might involve that one incident with the Pineco in the woods, and he was told that Cyndaquils as a species had one that powered up their flame production in certain circumstances, but other than that he was in the dark.

"Clovis, use Tackle!" he shouted. His Pidgey recovered as effectively as possible from the previous attack and slammed his body into the opponent, but it only left him further open.

"Rufflet, we've got this. Fury Attack, now!" shouted Westwood.

One. Two. Three. Four. Repeated directly claw swipes from the opponent's Pokémon raked across Clovis's body at close range. He tried to tell his Pokémon to dodge but placing him so close had made it impossible. Clovis fell to the ground of the arena, exhausted.

"Challenger 123's Pokémon is unable to battle! Please send in another Pokémon, challenger," said the referee."

They were almost finished. Raven was still in fine condition and Arden could fight if necessary, so he was two to one. Westwood's Pawniard was declared down, as was the canine creature he sent as his second. Ciel could feel his heart once again. His excitement threatened to make him pass out, but he didn't want to risk slipping because of unchecked emotions. He swallowed the lump in his throat, blinked twice, took a deep breath, and released Raven back to the field.

"How do you like my last Pokémon, darling?" Felicity's sing-song voice cast around Crystal. She took a deep breath and ignored her to focus on examining the situation. Her eyes scanned the creature.

Its lithe body was difficult to gauge. She'd seen Happiny before, and even Swablu in some magazine, but this one was a complete unknown. It hopped alternately on each of its large feet and white fur covered its entire body from its toes to the tip of its ears. The only breakup of its primary color was patches of red and what seemed like a bandage across its face.

Because of that she could only speculate its type. Using Pokedexes were disallowed by the tournament rules, she was aware.

"Scorbunny, Jump Kick, why don't you?" she asked more than commanded.

The size of the unknown creature's feet translated into a jump height of at least three meters. It extended its foot, the momentum carrying it straight downwards towards Ray.

"Roll out of the way!" she shouted.

Using his minimal body control, Ray twirled his body like a disk to attempt to dodge but was slammed into hard with the opponent's foot. The force launched him into the energy shield behind her and dropped him to the ground. Her Sunkern slowly brought himself to a ready position and hopped back to battle, but it was clear he was in bad shape.

"That little yellow creature of yours is certainly persistent, isn't it?" Felicity asked. "And here I thought that would have put him down for good, especially since my Scorbunny dealt with your little Bug so easily."

Crystal felt an iota of pride. "My entire team is stronger than they look, _Felicity Everlyne_ ," she said in a mocking tone, wondering what kind of ego someone needed to refer to themselves in the third person with their full name.

"Be that as it may, I'm in the business of bringing a trophy home to my family, and you're in my way, miss," the fluff-dressed girl told her. "Scorbunny, you can drop the act. We're going to have to fight her Water-type anyways. Use Blaze Kick."

"What?" Crystal gasped.

The small creature had already crossed the arena before she could react, and for the first time that battle, she could see a distinct trail of flames licking through the grass. She knew what was coming, but neither she nor Ray would have the power to avoid it.

The mammalian Pokémon's foot ignited, and it brought the kick around its body. The direct hit slammed Ray into the ground, and she knew before the yellow flag was raised that he couldn't have survived the super-effective hit. Her Sunkern rolled to her feet, unconscious.

Felicity was smarter than she let on by hiding her Pokémon's typing. Even though both Penelope and Ray were weak to fire, she had correctly banked on Crystal being unfamiliar with the lagomorph and avoided her switching to Maron. Both of their remaining Pokémon were nearly in the same condition, so it all came down to their natural ability and the skill of the Trainers.

She released Maron from his Poké Ball and called Bubble as soon as the green flag fell. A few orbs struck home, but the opponent used his agility to advantage to remain out of Maron's range. He jumped once again and landed in front of her partner.

Felicity shouted her order. "Quick Attack!" A lightning-fast kick connected, but Maron avoided being knocked around by planting his tail for stability.

"Bubble, again!"

The Scorbunny had already jumped out of range by the time the bubbles formed. Crystal cursed that Maron's only usable Water-type attack was special when he was a physical fighter. Felicity also seemed to recognize this. They had to do something unexpected to take the lead.

"Maron, do you want to try a new move?" she asked her partner. "We need to come up with something to end this battle."

Her partner cast her a backwards glance and nodded. They had never attempted it before—only once had they even discussed it—but it was worth a shot. "Try to focus your energy to your tail!"

The sickle began to glow once again as he gave the order. However, it dissipated immediately, forcing him to order Raven to use Slash instead. She swiped the underside of the Rufflet as it flew by. A few drops of blood told them that they weren't far from downing the bird, but at the same time, he once again faced Raven's mobility problem as he had at the Violet Gym.

"Y'alright, Rufflet?" called a concerned Westwood. The bird retreated to his side of the field and nodded to reassure its Trainer. "I'd say we better decide a winner real quick, 'See-Ehl', so neither our Pokémon get in any trouble. You ready't end this?" He tipped his hat.

Ciel agreed. He and Raven stood their opposite ground. His Absol pointed her shoulder diagonally, sickle-ear forward.

"Rufflet, take off! Let's show 'em what Unova has to offer!"

With a beat of its wings, the bird took to the sky. Once again, it was out of range, but Ciel had a plan. A dumb, simple plan, but still a plan. All he needed was the opponent to commit to a dive to make sure his attack would land.

"Stay out of range, Raven. You're fast on the ground, let it come to you!" He paused, holding in his breath. They needed a strong, single hit to end this. "I want you to try focusing to your sickle again. Just like we practiced."

Westwood's Rufflet continued to hover overhead. "Use Hone Claws. Get ready to attack!" His Pokémon responded by scraping its own talons against each other.

Ciel likened it to sharpening a kitchen knife, and whatever it was, a small flash of red energy engulfed the floating bird before dissipating. Westwood wanted to end this with one move as well. Raven continued her focus, and small flashes of black licked across her weapon.

"Rufflet, give it all you got! Aerial Ace."

The bird began its dive. That was all Ciel needed.

"What do you say we declare a sparkling conclusion, my Scorbunny?" Felicity asked her Pokémon. In response, the creature stretched its thin legs.

It was ready to pounce, and Crystal knew that it was more physically powerful than she initially thought. One clean hit from it could cost them the battle, even with the type disadvantage. She needed to end it before he had a chance to land another blow, and for that she needed him to channel his typing into his tail.

A blue light cast off the ball. A sign that his energy pathways were firing, transferring all available internal reserves to his tail. The ball inflated, implying that his internal water sac was pumping water directly to the top to increase mass. Still, he wasn't used to this kind of attack. Maron shuddered but kept focus.

"Scorbunny, use Bounce. It's too slow to dodge you, so just put it out," sang Felicity, her voice oozing with misplaced confidence. If she thought her victory was all but assured, she would think again. The Scorbunny leapt to the sky.

The Rufflet dove. Tucking its wings into its body, its velocity maximizes. He didn't order Raven to dodge. This was his opportunity, and they would meet this head-on.

In a surprising move, the white creature kicked off the energy barrier to gain downwards momentum. It twirled in its flight and outstretched one of its feet. Despite her not calling a Fire-typed attack, the dropkick licked with flame.

"Focus your energy, Raven!" he shouted. As her muscled tensed, the energy once again surged across her body into her weapon. A singular point of focus. It held.

"Maron, focus your energy!" she shouted. The blue glow engulfed his tail. He slid one foot, ready as the opponent descended.

"Jump!" Ciel ordered

"Swing!" Crystal commanded.

Raven leapt as high into the air as possible, directly into Rufflet's flight path. Committing to the dive meant the bird Pokémon had no choice. Not only could it not miss, it also couldn't dodge.

Maron swing his tail around his body. Once. Twice. The mace picked up speed and the torque multiplied the massive force he was carrying thanks to his Huge Power ability. The Scorbunny was about to connect.

" _Raven, Night Slash!"_

" _Maron, Aqua Tail!"_

Pure Dark-type energy was amplified at its single point of focus. As it hit home, it passed directly through Westwood's Rufflet.

The impact of the mace caught Felcity's Scorbunny in the cheek. The amount of momentum carried into the blow launched the rabbit directly to her left. It crashed into the energy barrier and fell motionless.

Raven landed safely, wielding only a graze on her shoulder. Westwood's Rufflet didn't manage to land as the exhaustion caused it to drop from its flight. A clean cut ran along the bird's side. It wasn't bleeding.

The silence between soundproof barriers overtook the scene for what felt an eternity. A blue flag was cast.

"Participant 13's Pokémon is unable to battle. The winner is Participant 117!

"Participant 40's Pokémon is unable to battle. The winner is Participant 123!"

In that moment, the energy barriers dropped, and Ciel felt the roar of the crowd overtake him. He glanced around at his environment. All other barriers had been deactivated, as they were one of the last battles to finish. The crowd was alive with applause and cheers. Ciel spared a quick glance at the sky, noticing some dark clouds rolling in. It was bound to rain in a couple hours, and that would only make things more interesting.

Part of him hadn't yet accepted the fact that he'd won. In his first-ever tournament, he succeeded in passing the first round. Was it a small accomplishment in the long run? Maybe. But only two-and-a-half months ago, he wasn't even sure he was going to be a Trainer. In front of thousands of people, he'd loudly proclaimed that he was here.

"Err, 'See-Ehl'? You in there?"

The Trainer snapped back to his senses at both the voice and the feeling of Raven rubbing against his leg. Westwood stood in front of him, calloused hand outstretched. Ciel took it and shook.

"You had me going there, man," Ciel told him.

"Little 'ol me? No way. I say it's clear yer at least better than me, 'See-Ehl'. I've gotta lot more training to do as a battler, and hopefully that'll help me as a ranger."

"You aren't sad you were eliminated in the first round?" he asked.

"Oh, sure as the grass is green I'm a bit bummed, but I had my fun and I got plenty more days here in Johto to see what it's about. And I've got to say, I'm impressed."

Ciel nodded. He felt confident in himself but also his opponent, who proved a fast friend. "I hope you can become the best Pokémon ranger you want to be."

Westwood tipped his hat. "Now _that_ was never in question."

"Ladies and gentlemen," boomed a voice around the arena, "let's give a big round of applause to our first eight matches of the day!"

Ciel cast his eyes up into the darkening sky and found Director Ryokuna standing on her announcement pedestal. The roaring applause continued for at least a minute before she mouthed an angry "quiet!" into the microphone, silencing the crowd. "Allow us to confirm the next sixteen competitors in the tournament and we'll proceed right away."

Ciel bid farewell to Westwood and moved to find Crystal and Gold. He cast one cursory glance towards the Gym Leaders in the stands, finding his mother chatting excitedly with Pryce and his sister but his father's eyes fixated on him alone. He returned nothing but a scowl and made his way from the platform.

When he reunited with his friends, he was greeted by more familiar faces. Alongside Crystal and Gold, who were celebrating the former's victory, were Zuki and Brent. In his arms, Brent held a small brown creature with a tuft of fur circling its neck. An adorable noise escaped it.

"Congratulations, Ciel! And boy, do I have the story for you," he said, lifting up the Pokémon.

"Tell me about it," he said.

However, the director began calling out the participant numbers for the next set of matches. 94, 91, 49, 62, 1, 83, 106, 41, 64, 103, 87, 22, 50, 30, 47, 126. Ciel glanced at the single digit hanging around Brent's neck. "I guess it's gonna have to wait," his friend said. Gold shouted incoherently, running around with his 91 raised above his head.

"I'm passing you the baton," Ciel told him. He held out a high-five.

Brent slapped it and nodded. "I'll run it as far as I can." The two other boys jogged off to take their places on the battlefield, leaving Ciel, Crystal, and Zuki to wish them good luck. The storm clouds kept rolling in, but as far as Ciel was concerned, the tournament was shining as bright as he could have possibly imagined. Now it was time to see how far he—and they—could go.

* * *

 _ **Well, then.**_

 **See, I'm not dead, but this was almost as bad as when I went dark before the release of the fifth chapter. For about three weeks in a row I found myself without any amount of spare time and chewing into my standard writing time to get done some more pressing work and going so long without any leisure was draining. However, it should be past for the time being. I should really start my next story with a buffer, shouldn't I?**

 **Let's hype for Generation 8! I'm part of the Scorbunny Gang, because monkey and chameleon have nothing on my fuzzy-wuzzy kick rabbit. I took the opportunity to throw in fanservice with Scorbunny since I hadn't yet written Felicity and Crystal's battle by the time the Gen VIII announcement dropped. Felicity was intended to be a prissy rich girl archetype before Galar was revealed, so I just decided to imply she was English due to how the "high-class" lifestyle is sometimes associated with the United Kingdom in western media. And, for the record, though I had Scorbunny use some Fighting-type moves in this chapter due to the lack of knowledge of its moveset, I'm not wishing we get another Fire/Fighting fiasco. I'm banking on Flying.**

 **As a bit of behind-the-scenes info, this is the first chapter I've elected to split into two parts. Eagle-eyed viewers will notice that Chapter 13 was titled "The Surprise Test" in my last update, but in writing this chapter, I was unable to get through all the content I wanted and was forced to split it up to prevent this chapter from becoming an unreadable monolith of text. Overall, I think the change is positive, even if it means stretching out my updates further alongside this four-week turnover, but I'll probably condense some lighter chapters later along to compensate.**

 **So, yeah, check in next time for Chapter 14: The Surprise Test. For real this time. I swear.**


	14. The Surprise Test

**This story is co-developed and edited by Titan127.**

 **Disclaimer: Pokémon is a registered property of Nintendo, the Pokémon Company, and GameFreak. This work respectfully uses the world and characters of the Pokémon series, with no intent of harm on the original creators. Please support the official releases of the Pokémon franchise.**

 **Chapter 14: The Surprise Test (8,662 words)**

* * *

Ariana broadcast an announcement to the entire base as soon as the executives left her office. hundreds of grunts squeezed through the hallways, many partially trampling him while others tried to bother him. The two major responses were excitement and fear. The Pokémon League, holding the position of the most politically and economically powerful organization the world over, presented a risk/reward scenario. If they succeeded, the Rocket Syndicate would become the stuff of legends and they'd be set for life. If they were found, it could spell their end, and any encroachment on League property was as good as a declaration of war.

Proton made no mistake in believing the Pokémon League couldn't find them. If the League had reason, nowhere on the entire globe was safe from their International Police. It was more likely that the League allowed the Rockets to exist because the cost of totally destroying the syndicate wasn't worth it. Not when they indirectly boosted business the world over, such as that Orran restaurant. He heard it was rolling out plans to expand internationally.

"Proton, you're so cool!" cried a female grunt whose cap could barely contain her wild hair. She was all over him, and while he didn't mind being so close to a beautiful lady, he was too shaken from the earlier meeting to enjoy it.

"Hey, back off, would you?" he asked. "No offense to you, but I need some space."

"Aww, don't be such a spoil-sport," she whined. He ignored her and kept moving.

It usually took him most of the day to make it from Goldenrod to the secret hideout by train, which is why he tended to leave on Friday afternoons to check in and returned Monday morning when he had no classes at the university. When not on assignment, he hung around, did classwork in his personal quarters, and hoped the Boss didn't bother him with any jobs. Though, even when he had schoolwork to do, he sometimes entertained himself by sending black faxes to wireless printers all over Johto.

Proton tracked across the tiled floor and shuffled between various people. A few more tried to stop him to ask for things. Unlocking a computer because a moron forgot their password, finding someone a phone number of someone clearly not interested them, and the like. He glanced at the wall's repeating pattern. Upper light panel, then two low-sitting orange guide lights, then a painting. It repeated throughout the entire HQ.

He stopped at a standing water cooler to catch his breath. Proton fumbled with a plastic cup as he tried to fill it with water. It was shot back in a single gulp, and then he crushed the cup in his hand out of frustration.

Nearby grumbling told him he wasn't the only one. Petrel leaned against the wall by some empty boxes. No other Grunts were scrambling around this area as the annoying mass had probably found their way to the common room to yuck it up about the future mission. A sudden urge to connect with his purple-haired colleague rose in Proton's mind.

"Uhh, so Petrel," he started, "what have you got going on?"

Petrel's sunken eyes found him. "Mind your business, kid. Just leave me be and let me have second thoughts in peace."

"So, you're just nervous about going after the Pokémon League? Big deal. You're not special, man," Proton told him.

Petrel grumbled under his breath, kicking at a box with his foot. Proton examined him and noticed that the scoliotic man wore himself like a hotel bellhop. His black uniform had a thin gold trim running up towards his collar on both sides of the chest. However, it was broken up by the white gloves and boots that drew away from the image. "Err, did you say something?" he asked.

"Grrr, fine kid. I hate that we're going after the Pokémon League because it's for the wrong reasons."

Proton wasn't sure what the man meant. He shot back more water with a new cup. Crushing his first was a waste. Proton asked, "What other reason is there? We're going to make money by selling the rare Pokémon we steal. That's our whole purpose, isn't it?"

"You're not looking past appearances, kid," the man scolded. A fitting phrase for a supposed master of disguise. "This isn't about the money. We could get that anywhere. And it's not about the fame either, since we're plenty known underground and it's not worth waking a sleeping Dragon-type."

"Then what is it?"

Petrel sighed. "The Boss is such a fucking hypocrite. You heard her speech in there about not caring and moving on—that's what being a Rocket is all about. The minute you start caring about someone else and letting that affect your decisions, you aren't a Rocket anymore. You're just a typical gangster. But attacking the Pokémon League isn't for the money, and it's not for the fame. It's just so Ariana can woo up Giovanni, wherever he is, to come back."

Giovanni. Proton had seen pictures of the guy and heard everything under the sun about him. A stern-looking dude in a trench coat and hat, right from the fine gentlemen of last century. He was no mercy, no nonsense, and nothing was his goal but wealth and power. That was all secondhand, of course.

Petrel continued talking, running a hand stressfully over his purple hair. "Giovanni left because he didn't think the Syndicate was strong enough with him at the helm. He _disbanded_ the Rockets to train himself, all 'cause some kid best him in a battle and vowed to start an even grander organization from scratch. He wasn't looking to bring us back because we served our purpose. The man moved on. I respect him because he's not afraid to bury the past and start over. But Ariana, and Archer too, that stuck-up prick, have been trying for so long to call out for Giovanni to come back. _That's not what we're about._ Ariana doesn't care about the money anymore; she just wants to get her baby daddy back because she didn't even learn the first lesson from him."

"Wait, baby daddy?" Proton did a double take. "Ariana never struck me as someone who'd fool around in her work environment." Though, if what that she-devil said was true about calling Ariana 'Master', maybe she was friskier than she appeared.

"She did, once, and never again. The Boss realized how much trouble _that_ caused between her and the old Boss. But, as I'm finding out, she never really got past that relationship, and now we're all going to pay for it."

Despite being the newest executive within the Syndicate's ranks, there was still so much Proton didn't understand. A lot had happened in the three years since Giovanni had disappeared and the group was reorganized, and it was further in disarray than he imagined. Still, it was no sweat off of his back, since he had enough money to do whatever he wanted from the Slowpoke Well job alone. "Are you going to do something about it?" he asked.

"Me? Absolutely _not_ ," the man wheezed. "Ariana would get pissy if I brought it up. She's just like that. Basically, the only thing she and Giovanni had in common was not suffering insubordination. I'll run this as far as it'll go, and then when we inevitably go under, I'll probably find a way to escape. You should too."

Petrel disappeared down the halls, back hunched as always. He issued a small wave towards Proton, whom returned to sipping water to try to calm his nerves. In the time after he'd returned to base, Vampire, or Sird, hadn't appeared. The Boss had instructed him through an online message not to return to base for a few weeks so she could ensure his tracks were covered, so that lady must have already passed through and was on the way to her next assignment. As much as it should have relieved him to know she was probably gone, it only set him more on edge. He'd have to deal with her when she returned—more accurately, she'd deal with him. He downed more water, only to find that the soothing liquid burned his throat on the way down.

* * *

Ciel felt on top of the world as he, Crystal, and Zuki tracked their way below the stadium to return to the stands. They were abuzz with conversation about the recent battles. Zuki came off as surprisingly less reserved than she was before and participated actively in the conversation. Through the walls of the stadium, Ciel heard the director announce for the second round of battles to begin.

"Have you two met?" Ciel posed the question to the girls.

"Just now, but supposedly she had spoken to Silver when he was in the stands," Crystal said.

Right, the Pokémon thief. Ciel had yet to actually _see_ him, despite she and Gold mentioning that he was now traveling with them. The group tracked their way past groups of people huddled behind the arena, many lining up at food shops hours before the designated lunch time. A sundry aroma of various unhealthy event foods flooded his nostrils, and he couldn't help but think they had the right idea. He shook his head and returned attention to the two girls.

"Say, where did Brent get that Eevee?" he asked Zuki. "Do you know anything about that?"

"I do. I gave it to him."

"You didn't strike me as a Pokémon Trainer," Crystal said.

"I'm not. Well, I'm not a Trainer in the _traditional_ sense, however ironic that may be," Zuki explained to them as they walked. "As you know, I'm a Kimono Girl. We've integrated Pokémon partners into our performances for centuries. Our speciality is Eevee, as its multiple evolutions allows us to easily raise a single family but still have a variety of move effects due to its multiple forms. I happened to have an Eevee stored in my personal account and Brent was missing a Pokémon for the tournament, so we rushed to complete that trade."

"Using Pokémon in stage performances must look impressive. I watch Pokémon Contests all the time and those are spectacular, so I assume it's something like that," Crystal said. "Which evolution do you use?"

"Umbreon," Zuki said, pulling an ornament from her hair. She showed the glossy dark pin to the others. "A number of my outfit's decorations are black or gold to represent my partner."

Suddenly, a distinct scream was heard, not of fear but excitement. It was continuous, and it was growing louder. They looked around the hall of the interior, not understanding where it was coming from. A few Trainers and spectators also stopped to look. The scream was gradually increasing in volume.

Someone burst through a crowd of people ahead of them, and the screamed word became clear. _"Lyraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"_ A freakishly tall woman tackled the girl directly off her feet, pulling her into a hug and swinging her around midair.

"Whoa!" Ciel exclaimed as he stepped back.

"Ooooooooh, Lyra, I'm so proud of you! You were so great out there, and that Marill of yours has gotten so strong since I gave it to you!" the woman rattled off.

"Gnnh, Nan!" Crystal made out, though her lungs were being squeezed in the hug. "You're embarrassing us!"

The woman stopped, looked around, noticed that everyone was staring at them, and then dropped Lyra to her feet. Ciel rushed over to stabilize the dazed girl. He also managed to get a good look at the woman, who had to be at least 185 centimeters and was wearing gaudy clothing of neon pinks and blues along with heart-shaped sunglasses. Her hair was tied into two long pigtails that reached her waist. "Hehe, sorry about that, Lyra. Just, like, you were _so cool_ out there! I can hardly contain myself!"

Crystal caught her breath and referred to the large woman. "Guys, this is my Nan. Sorry that she's… herself."

The woman pulled a Marill plush toy out of a backpack and held it in front of her. "Well, I can't help being such a big fan of my daughter and her Pokémon."

Another woman approached the Trainers, this one in contrast being much more modest—in height _and_ in clothing. She had simple brown hair held by a band and was wearing an apron, for whatever reason. "I really hate how tall you are," she said to the other. "You always manage to outspeed me."

"And this," Crystal said, "is my Mum. Hi Mum!"

"Hey, sweetie. Want to introduce us to your new friends?" the brunette woman asked.

"Uhh, I'm Ciel. Nice to meet you," Ciel said. It was safe to say that Crystal's Nan left him intimidated.

"Zuki Dento. A pleasure," introduced the Kimono girl.

"Well, it's nice to meet the both of you. I'm glad that Lyra's making some friends besides Ethan, especially with how bad of an influence he can be. I'm Emiko, and this is Mirei." She motioned to her taller partner after herself. "We're Lyra's parents."

"We've heard so much about you! Lyra thinks so highly of you, and she, like, says flattering things over text about all her friends," Mirei prattled off, examining Ciel. "Well, this one, anyway. I don't know about the kimono lady much but is this the blond kid you mentioned?" she shot back to her daughter.

Ciel cast his eyes over to Zuki, who seemed almost offended at being brushed off, and then to Crystal. Hearing her given name was confusing him. He shot a her a look, which meant, 'you talk about me to your parents?' The overall-clad girl just shrugged sheepishly.

"Gosh, your fashion needs an update. Top-to-bottom," Mirei remarked as she leaned to and fro, running her hands around Ciel, spinning and orienting him to her liking. "Tees and dark jeans are _so_ last decade. I would know, I'm a Pokémon Contest manager, so style is my expertise—"

Emiko roughly grabbed her arm and pulled her wife away from Ciel, something he was grateful for. He, Zuki, and Crystal watched awkwardly as the shorter pointed a finger and gave the taller a stern talking-to. Ciel eyed Crystal to the side. Her face was beet-red. She whispered, "just kill me already."

"Excuse me!" shouted Zuki in a sudden, authoritative tone. "Would either of you two happen to know where one could heal Pokémon here? I believe these two need their teams tended to before their next battles."

Emiko collected herself. "Right, of course. There's a Pokémon Center built into the stadium for participants to use, which I believe is this way."

However, as Lyra's parents began leading them toward the Pokémon Center, Ciel stopped. The space within the stadium walls was a large, curved hallway with a second floor accessible by stairway. Along the exterior wall, numerous banners hung, depicting various sporting teams and events that called the stadium their home. Past the banners, he spied two figures standing outside, both with picturesque blonde hair. "Hey, I'll catch up with you guys later, okay? I need to ask a question," Ciel said.

"Are you sure? It might be more difficult to get your Pokémon healed once more battles finish," Emiko stated.

"I'll be fine. See you around," Ciel told the group before making his way to the window. He fumbled around, trying to find a door among the multiple tinted panes, until his hand found purchase on a handle. The young Trainer swung the door outward and stepped outside into the cool mid-morning air, realizing that the dark color of the windows wasn't just from a tint. Some ominous, heavy clouds were sweeping in, casting the entire sky in shadow.

Ciel felt the perspiration build on his hands as he approached the two people. He was shaking, star-struck, unsure how to go about talking to a literal legend. He sighed to himself. Act natural, he thought.

"Hee~eey!" he called out, immediately broken by a voice crack.

Cynthia Masuta's eyes landed on him. He could feel an oppressive aura close in around him, the judgement of one of the world's most famous people quickly overcoming any and all sense of pride he had left from winning his first-round battle. The world grew even darker, the monolithic figure of this woman blocking out the sky—or was he just imagining it?

"Hey, I know you!" called the younger girl to break the tension. She jogged over and met him halfway. "I caught the last bit of your battle and it was pretty cool. Not very flashy, but that stunt at the end where your Absol knocked that bird Pokémon out of the sky was impressive."

Ciel still felt dazed, and only managed a shy, "thanks."

"You know this boy?" Cynthia asked. Ciel felt the idol paralysis sinking in again, and he could barely turn his head to look at her.

"Yeah. His name's Ciel, I think. He and his friends were heckling me about Zara earlier," she said, causing Cynthia to cross her arms. "Well, heckling in a good way. It was kind of flattering."

Ciel underwent a rattling examination. The platinum-haired Champion shifted her eyes up and down before giving a small smile. A soft expression juxtaposed a face of hardened experience. "I can't say for sure, but you seem nice enough."

His last breath escaped him. He'd just been complimented by arguably the strongest Trainer on the entire planet. His entire past, present, and future flashed before his eyes, and he was certain that if he fell over and died right there, it would be without regret. Cynthia snapped in front of his face and it broke him from the spell.

"It's an… honor to meet you, ma'am," he managed. "I didn't know Kris was your daughter."

"Oh, no, the honor's all mine. Really. It gets boring sometimes when the only two reactions people have when I'm in the room are fear or rabid fanboyism. You seem to be leaning towards the middle." The woman brushed her excessively long hair behind herself to clear her view. "And, yes, both of my kids are in the tournament this weekend. My husband and I were basically forced to attend, so we decided to bring them along for a family outing."

Christina Masuta and Sebastian Masuta were the children of Lance and Cynthia. What if he had to face either of them later in the tournament? Sure, he had help training from his mother, but _their_ parents were universally considered _the best_. He tried not to think about it. "Miss, err, Mrs. Masuta, could I ask you something?"

"Sure. I'm not doing anything now, though I do need to find my husband soon." She noticed his hesitation and added, "out with it."

"C-could I ask you alone? No offense to you, Kris."

She feigned offense. "You harm me, Ciel. Well, we might face off in the tournament, so I'll be seeing you around," the sandy-blonde girl made off inside the stadium, wishing the two of them a goodbye.

And he stood there. Granted a one-in-a-million opportunity to speak with a legendary Pokémon Trainer, he had so many questions he wanted to ask. Most of them them were about himself, how he could become a great Pokémon Trainer like them. Cynthia tapped her foot. There was gossip, rumors, floating information about her and Lance, especially about their roles within the Pokémon League and under its CEO. She tapped faster. He had no idea what he wanted to ask, and he didn't actually have anything in mind when he stepped outside.

"Kid!" Cynthia shouted.

" _What do you know about the Ruins of Alph?"_ he forced out quickly.

It had been a while since he, Crystal, Brent, and Gold decided to venture to the ruins on the outskirts of Violet. In all honesty, he'd barely remembered traveling down there. The imagery in his head was jumbled. He wasn't sure it was even real, even though dislocating his arm and dragging himself through the underground catacombs had felt it.

The woman was taken aback, but she collected herself. "That's a bit of a loaded question. Ciel, was it? I'm an archaeologist and mythologist by trade, so it's one of many places around the world I, and my team, have been interested in. Is there anything specific about it?"

"I saw someone inside," he told the older woman. "I fell inside the ruins, I think, and I saw a man who was talking to himself about the readings inside. But people said no one had managed to decipher the language or really know what culture the ruins came from, right?"

She paused to consider his statement, and he watched expressions flash across her face. She seemed so youthful, but looking at her clearly, the Champion was marked by the wear and tear of age. "Have you told anyone else?" she asked. He said no. There was confusion, then inquisition, then reservation, before she finally said, "am I able to trust you? My daughter seemed to like you enough."

He didn't know how to respond to that, but he didn't want to disappoint the Champion of Sinnoh. "Yes."

"The truth is that I _do_ understand the Unown language, or at least some of it. My husband—Lance—knows more about it than I do, ironically, because his Dragon Clan in Blackthorn has some connecting history with the ruins. He hasn't explained it to me. All he asked was that I keep information about the ruins and a few other specific places under wraps, so I pulled some strings to do so. He thought it was important, so I'll think it's important too."

"Why tell me this, though?" Ciel asked her. It's not that he couldn't keep a secret, but if it was supposed to be secret, why spread it further?

"According to my husband, the less people know about it, the better. But, if you've already seen the interior of the ruins by accident, I hope that giving you context will make you less likely to tell others about it. A little over a month ago, there was a scheduling error among the staff at the Ruins of Alph and suddenly no one was staffed to keep it guarded for an entire day. I'm afraid someone might be meddling where they aren't supposed to."

Ciel swallowed the lump in his throat. In knowing that something suspicious was going on, he wasn't sure what to make of the mysterious man's rant in that dark room. "I won't tell anyone, Mrs. Masuta," Ciel said with as much confidence as he could muster.

She smiled at him once again. "I'm trusting you to keep that promise, got it?" At that moment, something began ringing, and Cynthia fished a cell phone out of the pocket of her black coat. "I have to take this, so you take care of yourself."

The Champion made her way in the same direction her daughter took. "Cassius, Cassius, please calm down. He heard her say into the phone, "I know you found something interesting, but there's no need to freak."

Ciel was left alone outside the stadium, but as soon as he remembered the dark clouds rolling in, he too decided to step back inside. He needed to heal his team and find his mother and sister to be prepared for the second round, whenever that began. And he was missing Brent's battle! He'd gotten so side-tracked, he almost forgot. Ciel bolted down the curved connection room inside the stadium, hoping to make up the time he'd lost.

* * *

Gold blinked. Gold's jaw dropped open. Gold pointed.

"You copied me!" he shouted.

In front of him, ready before the opposing Trainer, was a Chikorita. And on his side was a Chikorita. Marigold was facing an imposter, and he wouldn't stand for it!

The Trainer in question, Participant 91, told him his name before the battle began, which Gold promptly forgot. What he _did_ know was that he was a science kid. Consisting of an actual, no joke lab coat and a pair of goggles, his proper protective equipment wasn't necessary for a sanctioned Pokémon battle. His hair, while wrapped in a hair net, was a bright purple.

Gold distracted himself as he breathed in the magnitude of the sporting event. Ten-thousand people in the audience cheered him on in his escapades. Well, probably not him specifically, but still. It warmed him up inside to know he was putting on a good show. Nearly every golden seat in the stands was taken, and even more people were watching from their feet in the rows closer to the battlefields. His view found purchase on Crystal, her family, and the grumpy tall guy who was tagging along. He waved and shouted, trying to get her attention.

"She cannot hear you, you know," said the science boy across the arena in a condescending tone. The kind of condescending where you don't know that you're being condescending, but everyone hates you anyway. "These barriers dissipate sound to give us the most focused battle experience possible, while live monitors enhance each battle and broadcast our battle orders."

"Don't have to tell me. I just know my friends will get a laugh at it." Gold turned back to his opponent and once again pointed an accusing finger directly at the enemy Chikorita. "Now, why does your Chikorita look so much different than mine?"

Gold examined the imitator who growled at Marigold on the battlefield. His partner stood ready with her leaf surrounded by green phosphorescence, while the other exuded just as much intellectual confidence as its Trainer. The opponent Pokémon had a lighter, more bluish shade of green than his own, and not only was its head leaf larger, the object was also decorated with spikes around its edge. Scary!

The science guy pushed his glasses upwards on his face. The same kind of energy held by Professor Elm radiated off the boy. "You see, Pokémon display morphological differences based on a variety of factors. Sometimes, the expressed traits are the result of need for camouflage in a specific environment, while other times it is caused by selective breeding on part of humans. This means that every Pokémon species has one or more sub-species with slightly altered physical traits to allow for better survival in numerous environments. For example, my Chikorita, whom I have named Hikensha, has much in common with coniferous trees in the northern latitudes that I hail from. Those rounded points around his neck sprout into cones come summer, which can be used both for territory marking and for sexual reproduction."

Meanwhile, Gold had pulled out a notepad and pencil that he'd conveniently stored in his jacket. It was another minute into the science guy's rant before he finally noticed Gold's notetaking and asked, "what are you doing?"

"Huh?" Gold looked up. "No, keep going. You're better than all my high school biology teachers combined. You actually _teach_ things."

"I'll take the first move," called the science guy. "Hikensha, use Razor Leaf twice, five second intervals. Fire at twelve o'clock."

The opponent Chikorita whipped a projectile from its head leaf in their direction. Gold was about to call his partner to dodge, only for both Trainers to watch the Razor Leaf fly directly over Marigold's head. Science guy had forgotten to mention that his Chikorita had proportionally longer legs, and Gold had forgotten to mention that he did not have a type resistance to Grass. The crescent struck his stomach and dissipated. A shallow cut appeared through his torn shirt.

Gold let out a groan but kept to his feet. "Now, let me tell you," he stated, matter-of-factly, "that never gets any less painful."

The referee raised a red flag high. "Participant 94, you have one warning! Another attack directly on the opposing Trainer will leave you disqualified!"

However, the second projectile was already flying per science guy's orders, and Gold could only mouth an "oh no" before it too smacked him in the abdomen. He fell, landed on his back, and lied gasping for breath. He put one finger to the sky. "I have fallen and I can't get up! Where's my button to call emergency services?"

The referee did a double take, unsure of how to process the situation. "Uhh, p-participant 94 is disqualified! Participant 91 is the victor!"

"I appear to have made a slight miscalculation," said the science guy. From the floor, Gold could see the energy barriers dropping in his periphery and the coat-wearing Trainer retreating from the battlefield.

Marigold trotted beside his head and nuzzled his head. He felt comforted by his partner's care for his wellbeing, but he also felt the need to scold her. "This doesn't put you off the hook for every time that you've misfired at me, young lady." Regardless, he grabbed her and hoisted her up high, his enthusiasm matched by her own cheerful squeaks. "We won! We won! Now, if anyone is willing, I think I need medical attention!"

* * *

Ciel found his way to the upstairs after asking a tournament staff member how to find the club seats. The interior of the stadium was unfortunately more convoluted than he initially thought, so it took a few minutes to find where he needed to go. As he made his way through the tunnel outside, he noticed a person standing to his left, leaning against the wall. He kept walking. The entire tunnel was cast in shadow by the cloud cover blocking the daylight.

"Please, come back," commanded Daku. Ciel was irritated by the tone.

Ciel stopped in his tracks but didn't backpedal. "Why should I? I've ignored you for years. I can last a few more minutes _not_ speaking to you."

"Please, come back," he repeated, but this time it wasn't a fatherly order. It was a tired request, and for some reason, Ciel felt inclined to oblige it.

He turned from his position and walked towards the man by the wall. He stared. Sometimes it annoyed him how much of his appearance came from his father rather than his mother; blond hair and green eyes were both father and son's defining characteristics, but Ciel just happened to inherit his mother's softer, rounder facial structure. Ciel's eyes bore into him. "What do you want?" he asked. The young Trainer hoped his lack of amusement was apparent.

"Stop looking at me like that. I'm trying to build a bridge here," his father retorted. Every brief exchange the two had was meaningless banter.

"What are you going to do this time? Take me to the amusement park and give nothing but small talk the entire time. Do you want to repeat the most uncomfortable moments of my life?"

"Could you stop pointing out things I've done wrong while I'm trying to do something right?" his gruff voice bargained. Ciel could almost hear a lump in his throat, like he was having an allergic reaction. Or was it something else? "I get it! I'm a dumbass and I'm in the wrong? Happy?"

"No, I'm not," Ciel said as he began to walk away. "If you don't have anything important to say, I'm going to find Mom and Laina to watch the rest of the matches."

"I'm sorry," he muttered.

Ciel heard something he'd never heard before. Was that an apology? Quickly, he returned to standing face-to-face with his father, intent on milking it for all it was worth. "Excuse me, what did you just say?" he asked, sarcastically. "I didn't quite catch that."

"I said, I'm sorry," Daku repeated, louder.

Music to his ears! A short phrase with multiple meanings, but one he couldn't once recall ever coming out of his father's mouth. Daku never actually apologized. He just dodged problems, acted like they never happened, and hid behind his wife to do the talking. Ciel put a hand up to his ear to funnel the sound better. Was he being obnoxious? If he was, he didn't care.

His father became angrier by the second. Daku's shadow grew as the fury surrounded him, and Ciel took a step back. As quickly as it came, though, it vanished, and his father decompressed. He leaned back against the wall. "This has to stop. For both of us."

Ciel was forced some recollection. When was the last time he spoke to his father? Truly spoke? He left two months prior from Mahogany, but before then, he cast his mind back a week, a month, half a year, almost a full year. On the rare occasion that his mother arranged a family dinner, they all knew to expect a room of silence. Whenever they stood in the same room, they refused to communicate, resorting to annoyed grimaces at each other, just like they'd done in the tournament so far. Ciel never tried to speak with Daku, nor Daku to Ciel, and he believed that both of them were fine leaving it at that.

"I want to…" He paused, before reiterating. "I want to, for once, to be able to genuinely talk to you and hopefully work something out between us. No insults, no standoff remarks. I know you're going your own way and you don't want to have to deal with me now, but we both need this."

"Did Mom put you up to this?" Ciel asked.

"What? No, I— well, sort of. I spoke to her the other day and she recommended that I do this, but she's not forcing me to do anything."

Ciel glanced over at the exit to the tunnel. As the crowd roared and murmured in an undulating fashion, he knew he was missing the battles of two of his friends. At that very moment, they must have been well into their bouts already. However, Ciel had confidence that the both of them could pass through the first round.

The young Trainer sat cross-legged on the floor in front of his father. "What do you want to talk about?

"I know why you've always hated me. I was angry all the time because of my job, I yelled through every conversation, and seven years ago, I hit your sister. I barely even remember doing it because I'd been drinking, but I apologized to her the next morning over and over and over."

Ciel felt his skin heat up at the mention. He forced himself to cool off with a loud breath. He asked his father, "why doesn't she hate you? She has every right to."

He shook his head profusely. "I don't know. I don't know. Maybe she was too young to remember. I'm glad she doesn't, but it doesn't make it right."

Daku didn't pause to let him digest. "You've grown up thinking poorly of me because I've never made a reasonable attempt to convince you otherwise. I've gone through a lot to try to change from the person I was then, and I won't say I'm entirely there yet. If I was, we wouldn't be having this conversation. But I want you to know that I've become a better person, and I'm asking for your permission to recognize that. Will you accept my apology?"

"No." Ciel spoke his answer resolutely.

His father was stunned, paralyzed. Ciel could tell by his expression that he wished to ask why.

"I don't accept your apology," he told the man. "I've thought of you as good-for-nothing for years. It's not so easy to say 'sorry' and make up. You have a long way to go before I'm ready to do that. I won't forgive you," Ciel paused, "but I think I believe in second chances. I want to see that you're ready, that we're _both_ ready, to move on from this part of our lives."

A very slight, tired smile curled across his father's face. "Your mother was right. When did you grow up so fast?"

"Are we done here? I want to go watch my friends' battles."

His father said nothing but nodded his head in the direction of the exit. With his back turned away from the man, Ciel stood tall and walked as confidently as he knew. He'd come far from who he was in high school, and he wanted his father to know that if only to proceed his superiority. Daku spoke softly behind him. "I'll be trying my best. I'll call you later, Ciel."

As those words echoed through his head, he realized that he'd been held back further than he thought. An unknown agitation shook him. His confidence cracked and left him feeling scared inside. He wasn't in danger; he wasn't even angry. Ciel recognized already that his father wasn't the same person he was then, but he couldn't—wouldn't—accept it. He didn't know if he could move on from something he'd intimately felt for so long, something so familiar to his person. It was a mark of immaturity to hold on to it.

He took his place next to his mother and sister when he found access to the V.I.P. seats. Both were happy to see him, but unfortunately, he'd completely missed Gold's battle. The end of Brent's own first-round match was approaching. He focused on his friend for the time being, trying to ignore some conflicting thoughts.

* * *

Brent found himself locked in a stare-down. His Magikarp versus the opponent's Machop. The latter Pokémon held ready fists in front of its humanoid body. The three fins on its head flared outward with each flex of its muscles. He could feel the energy exuded by the small yet fit creature and hoped that his Water-type had enough stamina left to match.

The battle had lasted for about fifteen minutes and he was already exhausted a Pokémon. His Sentret, whom he opened the battle with full force, lasted him through his opponent's first and well into her second before he was forced to pull the creature from the battle to prevent injury. Magikarp wasn't faring much better. Brent was nearly ready to declare him unfit for battle as well.

"Machop, break's over. Are you ready to get back into it?" shouted the girl across the arena. Her level of fitness was astounding. Shown off through a crop-top and exercise shorts were an impressive set of abs and toned muscle structures in her thighs and upper arms. The only thing more representative of her outward vigor was her hair, which sprouted wild and free from her head, spiked in all directions in the front and tied into a barely contained ponytail in the back.

Participant 83, who had introduced herself simply as Keiko, let a punch fly. Then she kicked, adjusting her footwork. She let loose numerous other practiced moves and the Machop followed her every move in complete synchronization without having to turn around. Both figures planted their front feet on the ground before them, angling their back legs and feet for optimal stability, and let out impressive battle cries.

"Use Focus Energy!" she shouted. The Machop flexed every muscle in its body, surrounding itself in a glow and highlighting its silhouette amongst the darkening atmosphere.

"Magikarp, use Tackle to counter!" commanded Brent.

His strategy with Magikarp was simple: use momentum to their advantage. His Water-type bounced once, then twice, then three times, slowly pushing forward by angling the direction of its impact with the ground. As it completed its third hop, it powered all its energy into one final hop, tossing itself in the direction of the focusing opponent.

The Machop broke from its focus, and not wanting to be slapped in the face by 10 kilograms of fish meat, brought down its hand. "Use Karate Chop!" shouted its Trainer after the attack had already commenced. The chop slammed his Magikarp into the floor of the arena.

"Flail!" Brent called, not missing a beat.

Flail was less a move and more a natural extension of Magikarp's out-of-water state. When in a desperate situation, it wiggled, vibrated, and swung its body with all its energy in any direction possible to solve the problem. It smacked the Machop's legs with its tail and then bounced upward to impact the short creature in the stomach. The Machop staggered.

Keiko threw an air punch powerfully enough that Brent swore he could sense the vibrations. She shouted, "grapple and use Seismic Toss!"

Despite the flailing of the creature before it, her Machop wrapped its arms around the Water-type and pushed off hard with its feet. It leaped into the air with the Magikarp locked in its grip and began to spin. It built up momentum with each rotation, before finally transferring momentum into its swing and tossing Brent's Magikarp to the floor of the arena.

He decided not to call another attack, seeing that his Pokémon was struggling to move from the impact. After the Machop landed adeptly on the ground, he exchanged a taciturn confirmation with the referee, who stuck out a yellow flag and announced that the Magikarp was unable to continue.

Brent held out a Poké Ball and tried to steady his breathing as the red beam retracted the creature into stasis. Luckily, neither Pokémon he used sustained any serious injuries and would likely just be able to rest for a few days to recover their strength. They could lounge and enjoy Goldenrod after the tournament concluded.

It was time to try out the newest member of his team. It was a gift from Zuki that he'd cherish forever, and right now he needed it, or rather her, to finish the fight. "Eevee, standby for battle," Brent announced. He unleashed it to the field. It let out its own battle cry, a smooth, high-pitched howl with a sound similar to its own name.

He hadn't spent very long bonding with his new teammate, but as he shouted his first battle order, he could feel the connection growing. The easiest way for a Trainer and Pokémon to bond was through battle. A joint exercise of physical exertion and mental flow, where the true core of all beings involved was displayed proudly. "Tackle!"

His Eevee charged across the arena in an attempt to headbutt its opponent. Keiko's Machop brought up its arms in a cross and met the Eevee head-on. However, not sparing any moment, the furred, brown creature pressed her tail into the ground to prop herself over the block. Brent barely had time to direct in the quick exchange. "Use Tail Whip!" His Pokémon whipped her body around and smacked her tail across the Machop's face before bounding a safe distance away.

"Machop, are you alright?" Keiko asked in concern. Her Pokémon reared back and sneezed, obviously irritated by the fibers. It shivered.

"Eevee, don't let up. Use Tackle again!" Brent called. He hoped that Tail Whip, even if it technically wasn't used for its intended effect, would still lower its defenses.

Eevee once again charged across the battlefield. He knew Keiko and her Pokémon would be expecting their attack, so he needed to change things up. They needed to fire faster than their opponents could react. As Eevee neared in, he waited for the perfect moment.

"Use Karate Chop to knock it down," Keiko shouted at her Pokémon. "You have the advantage!"

"Switch to Quick Attack!" he commanded his Pokémon.

As the Machop reared back its strike, his Eevee shot from her run into a lightning-sprint. With all energy focused into her back legs, she crossed the remainder of the distance in an instant and struck the Machop in the gut before it could bring down its chop. Staggering backwards, it sneezed a second time, before collapsing onto its back.

Brent and Eevee waited in anticipation. He wondered if they needed a ten count as they waited for the Fighting-type Pokémon to make it to its feet. The referee waved his blue flag to signal his ruling. "Participant 84's Pokémon is unable to battle, meaning that Participant 1 is the victor!"

"Yeah!" Brent exclaimed. His Pokémon ran up to him and jumped into his arms. If this wasn't a successful test of his new team member's battle prowess, he didn't know what was. Zuki had him going by saying that they only raised Eevee for dance purposes.

Met Keiko to shake hands. He could feel muscle and calluses in her hand as he shook, and the two acknowledged the battle. Reaching into his bag, Brent withdrew a few potions and offered them to the girl to help her Pokémon get a little strength back. Items weren't allowed in most sanctioned battles, but they never said anything about after the battle concluded. The martial artist graciously thanked him for the help and took a dignified leave from the stage.

Brent retreated from the battlefield himself to find his friend group, whom had already gathered in the stadium interior by the exit nearest his platform. Ciel and Zuki greeted him first, followed by Lyra and Ethan, whom he'd first met in Violet. Also with them was a tall person in a hoodie whom he didn't recognize, two women whom Lyra introduced as her parents, and Ciel's mother and sister. Everyone else had already met everyone else.

"Hey, nice work out there!" congratulated Ciel. He seemed more shaken than usual, for some reason. "I did miss most of your battle, though. Sorry about that."

"No, don't worry about it," he conceded.

"You won despite the type advantage at the end there," said Crystal. She and Ethan had begun going by nicknames. "That's pretty impressive."

"Hey, if we're all done, can we go eat? I'm _starving_ , guys!" Gold whined.

"I know a nice restaurant near here we could try," announced Ciel's mother, "but we should probably get going before it gets packed. Luckily, all of you finished within the first two sets of the round."

"All in favor?" asked one of Crystal's parents, the one with brown hair.

"Aye!" they all shouted in unison, before heading off from the stadium. Brent couldn't believe in hindsight how he'd gotten mixed up with such a lively group of friends. I hope you're watching, Brent thought to himself, imagining his mother in front of the TV. Everything he did was for her, and this was no exception.

* * *

Ciel felt fuller than a Swalot. The restaurant they found, a fancy ramen noodle house, was one he and his family frequented on the weekends back when they lived in the city. The food was just as filling as always, leaving him glad that not much had changed.

The group exchanged continuous conversation the entire time they had their seats. Since each battle set lasted about fifteen to twenty minutes and they left at noon after getting everyone's Pokémon healed, Emiko suggested that they had at least two hours until the second round began, including the actual lunch period. The only one not in attendance was his father.

Each of the Trainers scarfed down bowls of noodles and shared even more food, courtesy of Mirei's trigger-happy spending, with their Pokémon. The noodle house wasn't excessively small, but it certainly became packed once each Trainer's Pokémon was released inside the parlor. Gold explained how his battle had played-out, or rather didn't, eliciting a round of laughter. Ciel eyed the person in the hoodie, whom he assumed to be Silver, the Pokémon thief, but didn't pay him any mind. If Gold and Crystal said he was fine, he'd take their word.

Despite the large group, nothing truly noteworthy happened in the outing, and before Ciel knew it they were rushing back to the arena to make the beginning of the second round at 2:00 PM sharp. Ciel, with Gold, Crystal, and Brent at his side, jogged and waved through the interior of the arena to make it to the ground-floor center just as Director Ryokuna stepped to her pedestal. A slight drizzle began.

She commenced the next round. "The second round will consist of thirty-two battles in sets of eight, similar to the previous round. The same rules apply so I won't repeat myself, and if you need a refresher, you can refer to the audio record of your own memory," she stated.

Once again, she rolled out sixteen participant numbers. Surprisingly, Ciel found himself in the first set for the second time, though none of his friend's numbers were called. His opponent was Participant 41, and he made his way to the stage with Raven at his feet. He wished goodbye to his friends and his family, hugging his sister before he walked out among the light rain onto the battlefield.

He waited patiently for the opponent to appear. Participant 41, according to a jumbotron in his view, had participated in the second set. He'd missed the battle while speaking with his father, so he had no idea who he was facing. The rain was beginning to pick up slightly. It fell softly against his hair and face.

A head of bright pink ascended the steps.

"W-Whitney?" he asked in shock. Raven growled at the girl as she appeared. His Absol could sense the warrior within. The energy barriers raised after she entered the battlefield, blocking out the sound. Only the rain persisted, falling through the opening atop the glowing, transparent walls.

The young Gym Leader flashed a wide grin. "That's me! Nice to see you too, guy. You annoyed me at school, didn't you?"

He felt embarrassed at the accusation. 'Yeah, that's me. Wait, you just said you were attending with the other Gym Leaders. _You're participating_?"

"I never said specifically what I was doing here. It was a strategic lie of omission," she shrugged, grinning again. There's nothing that says Gym Leaders _can't_ participate, just that the tournament has an age-limit of twenty. Nineteen here," she said while pointing to herself with a thumb.

His thoughts were still jumbled from the conversation with his father, but now a new nervousness ran through his head. Gym Leaders were in the ninetieth percentile of Trainers. There was no way he could beat her! He'd be knocked out of the tournament for sure. He knew she used Normal-types, but none of his Pokémon had Fighting-type moves, the only things known to be super-effective in battle against them.

"Hey. Hey!" the pink-haired Trainer called, snapping him out of it. "I got a question."

"Uhh, shoot," he offered.

"How about we raise the stakes on this battle?" she asked with a sly expression. "Wanna add a little bit of excitement to this tournament?"

"You don't mean—" he cut himself off.

"Oh yeah, I _do_ mean. As long as a referee is present, a Gym Leader has the ability to declare any battle a Gym Battle with a badge on the line."

"You said you didn't want to do any work on your week off. Why the change of heart now, and why participate anyway?"

"You see, Participant 123," Whitney teased, "just because I'm battling doesn't mean it's work. I love battling! But you know what I like _more_ than battling?"

He was hesitant to ask. "What?"

She raised a hand to the sky. "Making a scene." She snapped her fingers, the sound echoing under the increasing rain. _"Hit it!"_

Suddenly, the energy barriers dropped around them, and the sound of both the crowd and the rain returned full force. Around him, none of the other barriers were raised, making it clear that no other battle would begin. Whitney had planned for this, arranged it somehow, and now all eyes were on them. The thousands in the crowd had withdrawn umbrellas but none seemed inclined to leave.

The referee handed Whitney a microphone before retreating back to the side of the arena. The entire stadium grew quiet as he waited for the order.

"With the power vested in me by the Indigo League as the Gym Leader of Goldenrod," shouted Whitney through the microphone, bringing down her raised hand in a point, "let the battle for the Plain Badge begin!"

* * *

 **A one-week turnover. The first one I've ever man** **aged in this entire fic's run, and on a monstrous chapter like this one too. I'm both insanely proud of myself as well as glad that my readers could get more content so soon.**

 **I was able to get back to a lot of plot-relevant stuff this chapter. I'm almost afraid that the flipping between battles and serious drama would create a mood whiplash, but I'm confident with it.**

 **This chapter marks two large milestones for me. Firstly, the story has reached 1,000 views on FFN, and I couldn't feel more humbled that people have been tuning in to give this story a go. Secondly, I've also passed 100,000 words! This gives me more visibility based on search criteria (which I'm always pleased to have) and just feels like a nice personal accomplishment. Do keep in mind, this length also includes author's notes, so I'm really at ~96,000. To reflect the actual length of the story, I've gone and listed the actual word count for each chapter's content by the title and will continue to do so for the remainder as I post them.**

 **Also, wish Pokemon Platinum a happy 10th birthday!**

 **Next chapter, the cast moves on into the second and third rounds. Come back next time for Chapter 15: Psychosis. See you next time!**


	15. Psychosis

**This story is co-developed and edited by Titan127. Editing and writing suggestions were given by Time Thief—check out their stuff, they've got some fun Yu-Gi-Oh! Content.**

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 **Chapter 15: Psychosis (9,709 words)**

* * *

The image of his father's face flashed in his mind. He tried to ignore the flash, only for it to be plastered inside his eyelids with every blink. The outing at the restaurant with his family and friends was supposed to clear his mind.

By the time a fraction of his focus returned, Whitney's attack had already connected on his side of the field. A powerful Thunderbolt from her Clefairy pierced Raven's shoulder. An active current crackled through her body, causing brilliant jolts to gleam as they reflected between hundreds of raindrops.

"What's wrong, Ciel?" taunted the Gym Leader. "You seemed pretty on top of things during your previous battle. I want to see some _fire."_

His eyes landed on his partner, who despite taking the attack directly refused to fall from her feet. Seeing her in pain cut through the fog in his head. "Use Quick Attack!" he ordered

Though her movements were noticeably slower, she still managed an impressive speed to bridge the gap. In moments she was upon the pink creature. The Gym Leader called for her Pokémon to dodge, but she wasn't quick enough to anticipate Raven's speed even after the Paralysis. A clawed paw raked across thw Clefairy's side.

The flash reappeared, the fog closed, and Ciel hesitated once again. He could only make one decision soundly. "Retreat, Raven. Back to me."

A few backhops placed partners side-by-side and Ciel could feel Raven's plea for his command. She could fight well enough on her own, but she needed them both to coordinate if Whitney was facing them. Raven knew the caliber of opponent they were facing the second the Gym Leader took the stage.

Whitney reared her head back and drunk in the cascading afternoon. Gross. She shot back a mouthful of rainwater before returning her attention to him, saying, "It's a good day for a swell battle, wouldn't you say? Now, come on! I'm waiting for you to make another move."

But, how could he? Ciel searched the stands. Almost everyone in attendance sat in anticipation of something truly spectacular, something he wasn't certain he could provide. His eyes landed on Pryce, the one who encouraged him to begin. His mother, who had trained him prior and sent him on his way. Laina, the one whose smile he believed he was fighting for. And then his father.

"Raven, use—" He halted. His father's face stopped him once again.

Whitney just shrugged to herself. "Oh well. If you won't, then I will! Since we slowed it down, I think you can pull out the big guns, Clefairy. Moonblast!"

It was Fairy-type. That was bad. Really bad. One hit and Raven was toast, especially after taking a direct Thunderbolt. Not only was it super-effective, Whitney's attacks were also far more advanced than ones his Pokémon were capable of. The experience gap between both parties was like peering across a canyon.

Whitney's Clefairy glowed to match a radiant orb forming overhead the battlefield. The crowd collectively gasped at its appearance. Once again, the overcast day was broken by a new source of light—the moonlight was powerful enough that Ciel needed to squint.

The gears were turning, and rather than calling an attack, Ciel decided that he needed to use Type matchups to his advantage. He announced, "Raven, switch!"

He fumbled with two Poké Balls and pressed both buttons simultaneously. Raven's beam whisked her from the battlefield just as the other neon red light formed a new shape on the battlefield. Whitney's Clefairy moved its arms in enchanting circles, indicating that the attack was coming. Arden formed completely on the battlefield. He let out a battle cry in face of the oncoming attack while his color faded into reality.

The Moonblast engulfed Arden completely. The only trace of the rodent was a surprised squeal within the ball of light. The orb nearly exploded, and once the light faded, Arden stood strong on the battlefield, hurt but unmoved. It was against the rules to switch explicitly to avoid an attack, but competitive Trainers often intercepted attacks to take advantage of type resistances.

"Oh, boo hoo," sounded Whitney, rubbing her eyes in a fake cry. "I know I shouldn't expect you to take a shot like that laying down, but you're no fun, you know?"

Ciel held out a hand. It immediately filled with water, confirming his suspicion that the rain was increasing. Arden's flames flickered under the pressure. However, Ciel couldn't think of a better solution—Clovis's size wouldn't do him any favors against the downpour.

"Try Ember," shouted Ciel, needing to feel out the situation. His Pokémon fired his signature projectile, and though it flew further than he expected, it disintegrated shortly before reaching the Clefairy. A different tactic, then. "Scratch!"

"Use Double Slap to keep it away," Whitney ordered shortly before the parties collided.

The Clefairy delivered one slap, but Arden sensed the move before impact and managed to duck directly under, retaliating with a scratch across the round creature's stomach. Both Pokémon and Trainer saw the second slap coming, this one aiming lower.

"Jump forward and ignite!" he ordered his Pokémon.

Arden leaped from a standing position and flipped his entire body during the jump. Ciel mentally projected the position and watched as it fell into place. Mid-way into the jump, Arden was directly overhead, backside down. With the same strategy they used against Westwood, Arden fired all cylinders, and a wave of flame washed over the Clefairy's body.

Whitney grinned. She ordered, "Wake-up Slap."

As Arden landed on the opposite side between the opponent and its Trainer, Whitney's Clefairy swung its limb through the residual flames and caught Arden upside the head. The attack sent him sprawling and Ciel realized that the flames hardly damaged her Pokémon at all. In a tense staredown, Arden made his way back to Ciel's side of the arena, eyes locked with Clefairy while neither party called out an attack.

Words died in his throat again with Ciel's next attack. Rather than capitalizing on the moment of hesitation, Whitney spoke up, holding up the microphone she'd been given. Drops of rain on the object interfered with the audio. "What gives? You seem off this battle. Half of the time you're all over it, the other half you're like a Stantler in headlights."

Ciel's eyes drifted to the edge of the platform as he debated whether to answer. The lack of barriers meant that anything he said could be picked up by the tournament authorities. Whitney wanted a scene, and no doubt everyone in the audience was looking for a good show. However, they were at the back of his mind. They weren't the reason he was watching his words.

A chill ran up Ciel's spine with a fallen raindrop. "Everyone's a Trainer for a reason, right?" he asked the Gym Leader.

"Well, sure. I'm in it for myself. There's nothing more fun than looking at myself in the mirror and realizing I wasn't the person I was yesterday. It gets my blood pumping."

"What if your reason isn't what you thought it was? What then?" he asked.

She didn't answer but eyed him with a knowing glance. "Is that it? No one ever said it was easy. You're gonna question yourself along the way, your view is gonna change, and you're bound to come out a different person. You and your Pokémon both. Sometimes, you're gonna suddenly reinvent yourself in the middle of battle."

Reinvention? Is that what he wanted? He was doing this for his family and his friends, because the kid who stood between his sister and his father was all he'd been growing up. Protecting those he cared for became his goal because of his father, but if his father wasn't even the person he'd been led to believe, then every battle order he gave would die in his throat.

"Clefairy, hit them with another Thunderbolt. That should get them going," she said to her current partner.

Her Clefairy puffed out its cheeks, twirled its arms, and focused. Flashes of electricity jumped backwards and forwards between its limbs. The sparks pooled in a ball between the tips of its fingers, crackling, sparkling, thundering. Even in his lack of focus, however, Ciel was able to spy a jerky movement on its right side as it prepared to unleash the Thunderbt.

Whitney was right. A spark ran through the back of his brain like a fight or flight response, and he called, "dodge right, now!"

His Pokémon curled and rolled right shortly before another bolt of pure energy danced from the Clefairy's hands onto their side of the field in a split-second. Ciel himself sidestepped in the same direction to prevent being hit by the bolt; as much as he'd enjoy an easy win like Gold had received, as the radiating energy shot past him and dissipated, he felt like not being hospitalized was the correct choice. A few hairs on his arm stood on end.

"Clefairy, are you alright?" the Gym Leader asked her Pokémon. "You looked like you weren't able to aim right there."

A burn on its right shoulder prevented it from moving its arm fully without some pain. Arden's large flame attack had left him a gift and given him a further advantage. Whitney began to call another attack, and he couldn't reason why she'd refuse to switch like he had. Was she expecting something?

"Arden, I need you to melee again," he shouted. "Get in close and get off as many scratches as you can.

His Cyndaquil tracked through the rain and was upon its opponent again. A similar exchange occurred as before, Arden trying to avoid oncoming slaps while trading scratch blows. It wasn't flashy, but it wasn't supposed to be.

He spied the boundaries of the arena, once again aware that the barriers were down. The raised platform would be easy to fall off if neither were careful, but Whitney hadn't brought attention to it. Suddenly, something Falkner had said to him struck his mind. _"That's a clever trick, Ciel. But realize that I've fought more Cyndaquils that most people will see in a lifetime."_

"Arden, back to me again," he ordered amongst the melee.

His Cyndaquil hopped over one more slap and delivered a scratch across the Clefairy's ear in their final exchange. Arden retreated to Ciel; this time, he was accompanied by a collective boo from the audience. The Director issued an angered "shush" through the microphone, but Ciel understood: their hit-and-run was getting boring.

He looked down at his partner. His flames were beginning to flicker as he exhausted himself. They only had one shot at his plan before he'd need to be removed from battle. "Defense Curl," he commanded.

"Don't tell me you're going on the defensive again. If you're still held up about your motivation and whatever, you need to jump yourself in the action regardless and figure it out later. If you hesitate now," she broadcast into the microphone, "you won't suddenly find your energy just lounging around."

Ciel could swore he saw Pryce's face pinned over the younger Gym Leader. Deja vu. His Cyndaquil minimized its presence and waited for the order.

She knew it was coming, judging by her face. "Dodge whatever it does, Clefairy. This is going to be dangerous!"

"Flame Wheel!" shouted Ciel.

Just as they practiced, a flaming ball rocketed across the floor of the arena. Arden's flames maintained in the rain and throughout his movement, and he closed the distance between himself and his opponent. Whether or not he could properly aim after he fired wasn't a concern. Whitney's Clefairy tried to move out of the way. Its shoulder burn and exhaustion made it a slow and easy target.

Arden slammed his entire, torched body into his opponent. Every ounce of momentum he'd built up as a wheel was immediately transferred into the other form by contact. Whitney's Clefairy flew far, past its own Trainer, past the edge of the arena, and onto the ground below.

With a yellow flag, the referee announced, "The Gym Leader's Pokémon is defeated via ring-out! Gym Leader, please send in your next Pokémon."

The Gym Leader was interrupted, however, by Arden's body being consumed by an encompassing, radiant glow.

A sheer brilliance touched every corner of the arena, reflecting and bouncing among droplets of rain. The unbreakable shine from Arden's body even overwhelmed the stadium lighting that had been keeping their rainy battlefield visible. Ciel shielded his eyes but was unable to look away from the biological marvel.

Within the glow, Arden's entire body was reformatted. Natural growth brought a Pokémon's form to a maximum size and mass, but that wasn't the end for a Pokémon's development. At a certain point, and with enough constant exercise, the evolutionary threshold was crossed, and some internal function activated. It ordered the entire body to simultaneously digest all available material and reconstruct itself from the ground up. Each change of form effectively restarted growth from zero, allowing a Pokémon to once again push itself to a new maximum.

Arden's body condensed into a shapeless mass of white before expanding. It grew to a new height, his front limbs extending to match the length of his back pair. Triangular shapes protruded from atop the white form and his previously thin snout was replaced by a defined muzzle. All the while, Arden let out a pained scream.

The glow faded and the familiar tan and teal color scheme of his Pokémon reappeared. A new set of flame glands fired from atop behind his head. Arden was reborn as a Quilava.

He let out a battle cry into the rainy sky before he collapsed motionless onto the ground. The referee declared him unfit for battle.

"Arden, are you okay?!" called Ciel as he ran up to his Pokémon. The referee kept out her yellow flag, and when he glanced over, she gave him a nod.

All the Pokémon could offer was a pitiful cry. In a slow, agonizing motion, he barely managed to push up his backside using his hind legs, but immediately he lost muscle control and collapsed onto his stomach again. His flames barely kindled. All Ciel could do was recall him to his capsule, and after a few moments of searching around the arena, his eyes landed on Brent. He was sitting alongside a gaggle of his other friends near the front, where he noticed Gold and Crystal speaking to each other. He compressed the Poké Ball to its miniature state and lobbed it across the field to the best of his ability. His friend caught it with both hands, fumbled, and then gave him a thumbs up from afar when he found solid grip. As Brent disappeared into the interior of the arena, he knew the Pokémon was in good hands.

"Nice throw, kid," Whitney shot at him, "and it's right of you to get your teammate help so quickly. He'll need as much rest as he can get."

Ciel withdrew the remaining Poké Balls from his pocket and rolled them around in his palm. He still had three, but he'd have to choose wisely for his remaining two in the current battle. Rock had a resistance to the Normal type, right? He gripped Hector's Poké Ball tightly, before tossing it onto the field—the button pressed as it hit the floor, and his Rhyhorn was released for battle.

"Hector, can you handle the rain?" he asked his Pokémon after he fully materialized.

Curiously, Hector paced around the arena slowly, appearing both confused and apprehensive about the downpour. Ciel noticed then that nothing was pooling on their platform and judging by the streams moving towards and past him, he assumed there was a near-imperceptible incline towards the center of the ring. Hector returned to ready position and stared down his new enemy.

Whitney's Miltank stood proud on the field. The creature was a bipedal pink bovine, though its hide suddenly transitioned to black around its head and made it look like it was sporting a hood. Ciel winced in discomfort at the presented utter. Whitney whistled and added a rural twang to her speech. "Come on girl, we got a battle to win!" The Pokémon snorted, bellowed, and tracked a hoof across the ground in preparation.

The referee waved down a green flag. "Battle resume!"

"Use Rollout!" Whitney shouted immediately, giving him little time to formulate a plan. The Pokémon curled into a ball and rocketed towards them, trailing through the water around the battlefield.

Ciel's command failed to cross his lips. Hector was forced to counter on his own terms as the bouldering ball of destruction slammed into him headfirst. With a short sidestep, Hector was able to redirect the oncoming force to the side, letting the Miltank slide past him. As he watched the response, Ciel was astounded by the level of control Whitney's Miltank had in that state, especially compared to Arden's flame wheel. The Pokémon curved to his left, banking into its roll to veer away from a ring-out and returning deftly to the opposite end of the battlefield. Then the rolling began again.

Hector lowered his head, horn forward, but this only prompted the rolling Miltank to swerve to the side and circle back, slamming into the side of his body. It bounced away and began to curve again.

Ciel needed to do something, and fast. "Bulldoze!"

Hector reared up and slammed his plated legs onto the arena to create a small tremor. Both Trainers kept their footing and the displacement of ground hardly slowed the Miltank barreling towards them. Ciel called, "do it again! Harder!"

Hector repeated the action, this time pulling himself further onto his hind legs. The Rollout was on a collision course. Hector crashed into the arena below, hard enough to crack into whatever material the raised platform was made of, shaking the entire battlefield to the point that Ciel's feet slipped out from under him and he landed out from behind his Pokémon. This time, the tremor was powerful enough that the Miltank's roll wavered, and this time it was heading directly towards him!

Ciel was barely able to stand and brought up an arm to brace for impact. However, after hearing Whitney call out for her Pokémon to use Brick Break, the only thing that occurred was a sickening crunch. He brought him arm down to see Hector and Whitney's Miltank static in front of him. Miltank's Brick Break had cracked one of his side plates in two.

"Hector?" he mouthed, relief and concern juxtaposed on his face. His Pokémon's left eye found his own while Miltank's chop buried itself into his side.

Ciel found his own footing and returned to ready position, a million thoughts racing through his mind. He focused on one. If Hector was going to protect his pack, he should too.

"It's time to suck it up," Ciel muttered to himself. "Laina looks up to me and my Pokémon need me. My dad can bite for all I care. It's not about him. It's about us." He stared down at his Pokémon, who despite labored breathing was standing proud. "Thank you, Hector. I'm not going to leave you to do this alone anymore."

Hector issued a defiant roar and shook violently to ward Whitney's partner away. Both sides were brought back to a standstill, but this time, Ciel took the first move. "Horn Attack!"

Hector hauled like a freight train. Every step he took sent a slight rumble through the platform. The sudden increase in power caught Ciel by surprise. Was it something he did? He closed the distance, and Whitney swung out her arm. "Dodge it!"

"Stop and use Bulldoze!" he countered.

Hector was unable to stop his momentum on a dime, but he improvised the move. He reared up onto his back legs, awkwardly hopped to continue his current motion, and brought himself back down again. The resulting tremor tripped Whitney's Miltank before it could dive away, leaving an open target. The bovine creature could barely process the sudden fall, and neither could Whitney. She stuttered, "Uhh, catch it!"

Ciel called Hector to finish using Horn Attack. The two sides clashed. Hector jammed his horn forward, catching the Miltank in the stomach. It planted its back legs and grabbed the ridges lining Hector's head plates. Hector drove his horn deeper. Miltank groaned in pain. It looked like his Rhyhorn was gaining the upper hand, but Ciel saw his knees buckle. Whitney shouted for her Pokémon to throw the opponent off.

With a veritable roar, Whitney's Miltank torqued its body to the side, overpowering Hector's low center of gravity to drive him to the ground. He crashed onto his side, more of his cracked plates scattering across the floor. Both Trainers watched the Pokémon struggle to turn himself over. Ciel could see slight spasms of muscle every with every drop of rain that penetrated his shell. He'd feared the type weakness from the very beginning, and he was glad his Pokémon had held out so long, but it was over. He motioned to the referee, who dropped a yellow flag.

Ciel found himself pushing at his Pokémon's side to attempt to flip him over. That Miltank must have been made of pure muscle, because Ciel could barely move him a centimeter. Wasn't he supposed to be a runt of the litter? The referee offered to help, and together they managed to return him to standing position.

"Hey, buddy, you really saved me out there," Ciel told his Rhyhorn. He held out a hand and Hector rubbed his snout in the palm. His mind cast back to Brent, whom he didn'tt see back in the stands. "Looks like I'm surrounded by heroes. Get some rest."

Ciel recalled his Pokémon and stood opposite Whitney and her own. Her Miltank was panting—the small bleeding wound in its front where Hector had impacted it wasn't a beautiful sight. It was one-and-a-half versus one-half. Raven didn't have much left in her as is and he didn't want to push his luck,so Ciel conceded his massive disadvantage but steeled himself to try. He owed it to everyone he counted on, including himself.

"Your head's a little higher than it was a few minutes ago," teased Whitney while Ciel returned his partner to the battlefield. "Did you reinvent or are you going to figure it out later?

"The second one," he shot back.

Whitney shrugged. "Hey, that's as good as any. I don't want to be fighting a Trainer who keeps tripping over his own words."

Raven's body fully materialized, and despite the brilliant shocks persisting, she defiantly growled at Whitney's Miltank. A flash of Dark-type energy coursed through her blade before vanishing.

Ciel felt cold. His shirt and pants were completely soaked—the saturated material clung to his skin, causing shivers to run up his neck. He wished he'd brought his own umbrella. The crowd roared in anticipation of battle's final phase, drowning out the sound of the rain itself. However, Ciel's mind was clear, at least temporarily. When the flag was cast, he called the first move.

"Quick Attack!" he commanded.

Raven fired across the arena, racing at nearly double her normal speed. She threw a claw forward and struck across Miltank's side before the opponent Pokémon could even see the attack. However, a jolt ran through her back leg as the attack connected and it sent her stumbling.

"Use Stomp, Miltank!" ordered Whitney. Her Pokémon took the opening to her advantage and brought a massive hooved foot down on Raven's back. His partner was driven to the floor. Another shock ran through her body and her muscles seized. Whitney gave a laugh. "Finish it, Miltank. Body Slam!"

The opponent Pokémon backed away temporarily. A snort and some pawing of the ground signaled its intentions. It charged. Raven was helpless on the ground, and he didn't have any defensive moves to prevent it.

Raven blurred. Ciel forced himself to blink to make sure he wasn't seeing things and she had completely vanished in the moment his eyes were closed. Whitney's Miltank failed to make its mark, causing the creature to pull up on its charge and bring its guard up. A silence fell on the arena as everyone in the stands waited in anticipation for the next move.

A flash of white appeared directly in front of Miltank. Raven's body curled, ready to pounce. The opponent Pokémon could barely crane its neck downward at the new presence before the attack fired.

"Night Slash!" Ciel shouted.

Raven lunged and swung her charged sickle through the Miltank's head. A trail of shimmering black tracked her motion as the weapon passed through its target. Raven crashed onto the other side due to the paralysis, while her opponent fell forward, motionless. Once again, Night Slash didn't leave a wound, but Whitney's Pokémon was rendered completely inert.

The referee swung a flag. "The Gym Leader's Pokémon is unable to battle. Please send in your next Pokémon."

Whitney searched her pockets for only a moment before a bewildered look crossed her face. She patted herself down a second time. "Uh oh, spaghetti-o's," she announced. "Hey ref, I don't think I actually have another one. I think I forgot it."

The three of them passed a set of confused expressions around. Raven slowly stood on the arena, tired and spasming but still conscious. The referee shrugged and waved the blue flag instead. "The Gym Leader has run out of Pokémon. The winner is Participant 123!"

Ciel fell to his behind and soaked himself further. "Holy…" he managed. He won? He couldn't believe it. "I… I won!" he shouted. He pumped his arms to the sky.

Whitney burst out into tears. A horrifying wallow pierced Ciel's ears and he could see globs running down her face despite the rain. He felt his own cheeks heating up, as no doubt every pair of eyes in the arena was on that embarrassing spectacle. He gathered to his feet and met her in the middle of the arena.

"Excuse me, Miss Akane, are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?" asked the referee. The woman pulled out a handkerchief only to realize it was pointless under the downpour.

"Waaaaaaaaaaaah! I can't believe I lost from such terrible luck! You meanie!" Whitney cried out. Ciel shrunk in on himself further and just wanted the whole thing to be over.

Then, immediately, she stopped. The tears stopped flowing, she stopped screaming, and she stared at him with utmost composure. "Ah, that was a good cry, now wasn't it? Here's your cash for winning, by the way," she said while depositing a saturated wad of bills in his hand. "You're not supposed to pay the winner in a tournament battle, but we're technically mixing rulesets here."

Whitney also pulled a single badge out of her wallet. He absently grabbed the object, a flat yellow diamond, and stuck in in the badge case he carried in his back pocket. It fit snugly in the third slot next to the Hive Badge. He finally found his words. "What… just happened?"

"What?" she asked, innocently. "It's like I said. There's nothing more fun than making a scene. Stop by my Gym next time you want a challenge, alright?"

She recalled her partner Pokémon and exited the arena, tall, proud, and waving. The spectators cheered, once again deafening the rainfall. "Unbelievable!" boomed the tournament director. "A challenger has defeated Gym Leader Whitney Akane and obtained the Plain Badge! All of you other slackers just aren't trying hard enough." Her words only served to rile the crowd up further, and Ciel hurried quickly off the platform. He and Raven needed out of the rain.

He could feel something building in his chest. The rush of victory running through him made him forget almost entirely about his father, and as he walked back from the battlefield, it released. He jumped high into the air, involuntarily, and shouted his excitement at the top of his lungs. He rushed to his mother and sister, who were waiting for him just inside the passageway to the arena interior and pulled both of them into an uncomfortably wet hug.

* * *

Inside the Pokémon Center, Ciel was blown away at the sheer modernity. A curved hallway made up the main body of the center, running nearly half the length of the stadium's lowest floor. Aside from the single central office, the Pokémon Center's two wings were entirely composed of individual rooms filled to the brim with healing machinery, medicine, and most importantly, Pokémon. The amount of unfamiliar Pokémon in the facility nearly made his head spin. And here he thought he was special having a foreign species like Raven on his team.

"That was _super amazing,_ Ciel!" badgered Laina. She was tugging on his shirt to get his attention. It was squeezing water onto the floor and down his pants.

"Laina, come on," he told his sister. She let go of him. "I'm already tracking water everywhere."

"But it was super cool that you beat that Gym Leader in front of so many people. You're famous! Aren't you excited?"

"I wouldn't say I'm famous yet," he conceded. "But it _was_ super cool." He felt almost guilty taking so much praise, but he couldn't deny the emotional high he was in. He noted a familiar face ahead of him. "Westwood!"

The cowboy was standing in front of the glass window of one of the treatment rooms, leaning back like the protagonist in an old spaghetti western. He held his hat in front of his chest. "How's it be, 'See-ehl'? Yer battle up there was a dandy one. I didn't know your Absol knew Detect."

Me neither, he didn't say. "Yeah, thanks man. How are your Pokémon?"

He pointed inside the room, where all three of his Pokémon were in for a short recovery on the two maroon beds. On the left, his Pawniard was dozing softly while sitting up against a pillow with Lillipup resting its head on the other's lap. A veterinarian was tending to his Rufflet on the other, though none of the healing machinery was in use.

"Accordin' to the doc, none'a the boys need anythin' but a short rest. Rufflet got it a little worse from that powerful attack yer little Absol did there. Since Dark moves don't bleed, though, it's just a stitch or three and a bit o' antiseptic so nothin' gets caught while it's closing up." He turned to face the window with his back straight and shoulders strong. "Ya should probably change clothes."

Ciel peered down at the pool at his feet. "Yeah…"

"Ciel, are you coming? Your Pokémon are this way," his mother called. She had stopped ahead after realizing he wasn't following.

"Okay Mom!" he shouted back. "I'll see you on the flip side, right Westwood?"

He tipped his hat downward. "What kinda phrase is that? Is that yer way of sounding Unovan?"

"Well, I already speak the language." Ciel shrugged. He waved goodbye and jogged after his mother down the crowded hall.

When he and his family arrived at his designated room, Brent was inside and feeding some odd gruel on a spoon to his Cyndaquil— err, Quilava. Arden was conscious but could barely hold his head up. His flames weren't burning.

The three pushed their way inside the door and Brent stood up to greet them. "Hey, everybody! I heard the crowd screaming up there, but I missed the end of the battle. You kicked butt, right?"

"Yes, he did," announced his mother. "We're really proud of him."

"How's Arden? And what are you feeding him?" Ciel asked.

"Well, for how he is, the nurse said that since he evolved, there's nothing particularly _wrong_ with him, he's just abnormally low on energy. He'll be fine, but he might need at least two weeks to fully recover." He pulled a folded sheet of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Ciel. A prescription. "As for the second question, it's a mix of Sitrus, Lum, and something I've never heard of called Nomel. Apparently the last one stimulates recovery, and the whole mixture is pumped full of nutrients and medicine."

Arden leveled his gaze at its Trainer, and for a split second, the flame on his head fired in recognition. It died immediately, but Ciel felt humbled that he'd try to get so excited in his condition. Raven hopped up on the bed and lied down in front of her teammate.

"Thank you for taking care of my son's Pokémon," his mother said to Brent. "You're a good kid, you know that?"

The older Trainer took it in stride. "What else am I supposed to do when the man of the hour doing a Gym Battle throws his Poké Ball at me? I'm not looking to be crucified by the crowd."

A crowd of people began pushing through the door. "Yoohoo, Ciel!" shouted Mirei, who had both her wife and daughter dragged along in headlocks. "You were amazing out there! I can see why Lyra is friends with you."

Two other people carrying a microphone and camera equipment also tried to cram there way inside the small room. "Hey, can we get an interview in here, Mr. Fauder? The local paper would love to hear about this. Here's my headline," a woman said, "'Against All Odds, Rising Trainer Wins Live Gym Battle Before Thousands.' Sound good? Okay?"

Brent stood up, and for the first time since meeting him, Ciel heard him raise his voice. " _Will all of you get out?"_ The entire crowd settled at the sudden challenge. "His Pokémon need to rest, and you aren't helping the process. You can come back later."

An embarrassed Crystal waved goodbye as her Nan dragged her outside the room. The two interviewers begrudgingly backed off as well, leaving Brent and Ciel's family alone once again.

"Thank you for that," Ciel said. "I'm not good at being the center of attention."

The older Trainer sat back down and resumed feeding Arden the healing mixture. "It's no trouble. I just want to see this little buddy get better. If I'm honest, I'm not just here for the battles. I want to see Pokémon and people grow, however they do it. That's the essence of being a hero, right? You help someone so that they can go on and help someone else." In the middle of his sentence, Arden passed out entirely. "Whoops."

"Wow, Ciel, you didn't say he was a philosopher," chided his mother. "Come on, we should probably head back up to the stands, so we don't miss any of your friends' matches. Leave your Poké Balls here for the workers here and lock the door behind you. I'd suggest you overnight them."

Ciel bid goodbye to Raven and Arden for the night, placed his remaining Poké Balls in the tray, and made his way topside with his family. His mother invited Brent to the VIP stands, and after clearing with some officials that he was a guest, they found their seats. The rain had cleared up since the end of his battle, but he still had to wipe the water out of his seat. Not that it would help.

As he sat down, he realized how much of a mistake it was to follow his mother to the club seating. He could feel the knives of surrounding gazes pierce through his skull. Falkner, Bugsy, Whitney, and the remainder he had yet to meet. The only one missing—thankfully—was his father, but his absence didn't improve the situation. Ciel folded inward on himself.

To distract himself from prying eyes, Ciel focused on the appearance of the next set of battles. He was drawn to the sandy-haired set of siblings who stood tall on directly adjacent platforms. As the battles began, they released from their capsules two of Kanto's most powerful Pokémon: Charizard and Dragonite. The majesty of both draconic creatures drew him in. The battles began.

" _Flamethrower!"_ shouted Christine Masuta. The sound echoed from the jumbotron suspended above her arena among the playback of the other screens. Simultaneously, Sebastian Masuta ordered, _"Hyper Beam!"_

Both attacks fired from their users with radiating power, so much that Ciel swore he could feel it through the distance and the barrier. Both streams swallowed their opponents in bursts of flame and light, and when the cleared, the opposing Pokémon were both unconscious. A single hit each. The collective gasp of the crowd echoed Ciel's own opinion on the battle. They were almost as powerful as World Trial participants.

The siblings' battles were over in record time. Kris's opponent forfeited before his third Pokémon was released, but Saber's persevered. Another Hyper Beam washed over his opponent's third team member and it was over. The two siblings exited the stage to rousing applause, and Ciel felt the knot in his stomach at the thought of facing them in battle.

Nothing remarkable happened for the remainder of the day. Ciel cheered on Brent and Crystal, who both pulled through their second-round bouts. Gold, though he came close, lost his own battle, his Slowpoke being knocked out by a Corsola. It didn't look like Gold had much experience battling with the Pokémon. Still, he walked off with a smile on his face.

By the time the second round ended, Ciel had to be roused from sleep by his mother. He'd dozed off while trying to focus on the battles. It had been a long day. His own Gym Battle had taken up extra time and the director called for a recess at one point to let more rain pass. It was beginning to get dark when Ciel and his family left the stadium for the night.

Ciel gathered his team from the Pokémon Center and walked home. Even Raven had no objections to being dematerialized for the trek back. He bid farewell to Brent and the two parted ways. Ciel found himself dragging along the parking lot with his mother and sister. His father must have already headed back to the hotel rooms. Laina tried to energize him, but at that point he was too far gone. Both he and his Pokémon needed some solid rest before the next day of battles began.

Laina began talking to his mother about school. She was in sixth grade now. Ciel hadn't been keeping up. Soon, he found himself falling behind, and when he powered his legs to catch up, he turned a corner to find his family missing. The Trainer quickly scanned the area with his head. He was in a dark backstreet, cutting through some of the more regularly congested areas of the city. Had he taken a wrong turn while following them?

He suddenly remembered his new Poké GEAR and flipped it open to call his mother. As he dialed in the digits, something cold found itself against his neck. His arm fell limply to his side as he realized what was happening. He began breathing faster. His vision blurred.

"That's right. Put your little toy away, you don't need to use it," called a sickly, feminine voice. "It's sad that you left your Pokémon at the stadium overnight."

"W-who are you?" he choked out. "I don't have anything with me. J-just some cash," he offered. The bills Whitney awarded him were in his wallet.

"Don't be silly, I don't need your money. I just want to… talk." She pressed the knife further with the final word. "A little birdie found out that you've been sticking your nose where it doesn't belong."

Ciel tried to restrict his breathing to not touch the weapon with his neck. "What… do you mean?"

"The Ruins of Alph, remember? We knew someone went down there at a _very_ inopportune time, but we didn't know who. How kind of you to go and flap your lips about it."

"Who is 'we'?" he posed, still choking on his own breath. Tears were welling up in his eyes as he felt his neck start to sting. "You... you're with the Rocket Syndicate, aren't you?"

The pressure suddenly disappeared, and the woman put a foot to his back and sent him sprawling on the dark pavement. He groaned but managed to turn his head the attacker. It was a woman in a dark robe with violet locks and sharp, dangerous eyes. As he thought, a small emblazoned "R" shone itself on her chest.

The woman brought a hand up to her ear. "Master, what do you recommend?" she asked nobody.

After a short period of silence, she said, "I understand." The woman turned back to Ciel and shook him to the core with her smile. "You really know the right things to say when you need to say them, huh? And here I was going to put you down for good. How rash of me. Go on, tell your friends and the authorities about the _Rockets_. We'll be keeping an eye on you, your parents, and even that adorable little sister of yours, just to make sure you stay in line."

Sister. The one word made his vision flash red. He jumped to his feet and charged, fist drawn, ready to let it fly. As he threw the punch, she disappeared. Just as quickly as she had appeared and threatened him, she was gone.

Ciel fell to his knees and reached for his neck. Just touching it sent pain through his head, and when he drew back his hand, a thin line of blood was barely visible in the fading daylight. He felt himself fade from his own consciousness at the sight.

"Ciel!" called Brent as he soon appeared. His friend placed hands on his front and back to steady him. "Holy hell, are you okay? Breathe. Breathe."

His mother and sister followed soon after in a panic. Before any of them had a chance to say anything, he wrestled free of Brent and kneeled again to pull his sister into a firm embrace.

"Ciel?" she asked. "What's wrong?"

He didn't let go. Another warm pair of arms enveloped him, and he looked upwards to see his mother's face. The three of them held like that for a while.

* * *

The sky was black when they reached the police station. Ciel sat shaking on the bench with his sister on his right and Brent on his left. The latter had a hand around his shoulder. He watched as his mother paced back and forth, painstakingly explaining the situation to an absent-minded officer for the umpteenth time. She was growing more and more visibly agitated by the minute, but the man seemed unconvinced that the Rocket Syndicate was involved.

"We came as fast as we could!" shouted Crystal, who slammed through the front door of the station with two figures in tow. She rushed up to him. "Ciel, are you okay? Oh my goodness, what happened to your neck?"

Crystal retrieved various first aid supplies from her bag and shoved them into his pockets for when he needed them, all while trying to calm him down. Ciel scratched at the bandage wrapped around him but couldn't manage any words. With a slow, shaky motion, he pointed to where his mother was arguing with the officer. She grabbed Gold and the person in the hoodie by the hands and stormed up to speak with the officer. He could hear clearly their own testimonials about the Rockets.

Though his vision was blurred, Ciel saw someone standing outside the door to the station. His father didn't move, he just leaned up against the doorframe, but he was there. Was it obligatory or generous?

His mother stormed over. In her exasperated state, bags hung under her eyes and her hair fell haphazardly around her face. "Let's go, everyone. The best we can do is that they offered an officer to escort us back to the stadium tomorrow and they'd investigate around, but without any other evidence from the incident, there isn't much they can do. "

She helped pull him to his feet. It was an agonizing process—he didn't have the strength, physical or mental, to really move his body. By the time they were outside, Ciel had used up almost all his energy, but he still pushed his mother away when she tried to take his hand.

"Can you walk, dear?" she asked. "Don't push yourself."

Ciel curled his fast at his side. His nails dug into his palm _hard._ "I want to help you guys," he stated.

"What do you mean? You're not in any condition to do anything right now, Ciel. Let's just get you home, okay?" Crystal put her arm under his to give him more support. Brent mirrored her on his opposite side.

"I want to help you fight the Rocket Syndicate. You said that he had a bone to pick with them, right?" he asked, pointing at Silver. Silver took down his hood, revealing his face.

"What's it to you?" confronted the redheaded boy. "I don't even want their help, so I certainly don't need you. The Rockets are _my_ battle."

"Hey, but you asked us—" Gold shouted before being cut off by Crystal.

"Regardless of who asked what, are you certain you want to get involved in this? We saw some pretty gruesome things in Slowpoke well, and we know what the Rockets are capable of. Silver's right. We don't want anyone else involved if we end up doing something dangerous," Crystal said.

"She threatened my sister. She threatened my family," Ciel said with tears welling down his face. "I told myself I'd get strong enough to protect those people, that I'd keep getting stronger to stop people from getting hurt. I need to fulfill my promise to myself and to them."

The young Trainer brought his fist up to chest level. "That's who I want to be. So, if you're going to be chasing after the Rockets, I want to be there."

"Count me in too," Brent announced to the group. "If you ever need us, we're ready when you call. That's what friends are for."

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Silver muttered.

Ciel looked down as his younger sister grabbed his hands in her own. Their eyes met, and he saw a plea. "Let's get back, Ciel. You should sleep."

He squeezed her hands tightly as they trudged through Goldenrod streets. Their hotel room wasn't particularly far away, but it felt like an eternity as all of them trekked the blackness.

* * *

As promised, an officer accompanied the Fauder family back to the stadium. The entire second day began without much fanfare and Ciel's name was once again drawn in the first set of battles. Just his luck.

He groggily drew himself up to the platform after collecting his Pokémon. The Director had pitted Participant 123 against Participant 25. For the second time, a familiar face surfaced against him in the tournament.

"Hey there, Ciel!" greeted Kris. "Nice that I get to meet you on the battlefield, huh?"

She noticed his current state. "Hey, are you doing alright? I heard something happened last night."

"I'm fine," he insisted, though it was unconvincing. He ordered Raven to the field. "Let's just get this over with."

"If you say so," Kris said, before releasing her own partner to the field in a burst of flame. "Don't blame me for what happens next. I've got the whole world staring me down and I don't want to disappoint."

The battle was over before it began. Kris's Charizard, Zara, was a complete monster, and Ciel's brain was scrambled from his lack of sleep. Even in clear weather, everything worked against he and his team. Raven was swallowed by a high-power Flamethrower. Clovis couldn't match Zara's aerial superiority and was cut down with Air Slash. Hector, despite the overwhelming type advantage, was eventually forced to yield as Dragon Rage after Dragon Rage washed over him. His entire team fell without even knocking out one of the girl's Pokémon.

"Participant 123's Pokémon is unable to battle. The winner is Participant 25!" shouted the referee.

Christine Masuta raised a fist to the sky and the entire crowd exploded. The daughter of Champions, a rising star, and someone Ciel couldn't hope to match. He shook her hand.

"That was fun!" Her energy sometimes seemed boundless, but not in a childish way. "Hey, is that a Poké GEAR? Give me that for a second."

She popped open the device strapped to his arm and hit a bunch of buttons. He drew back the device and stared. She had added a contact with her phone number, but he was confused as to why.

"Hit me up if you ever want a rematch. See you around!"

Ciel closed his Poké GEAR and made his way back to the Pokémon Center. Despite all his Pokémon having already healed, he was forced to check the three of them back in alongside Arden.

He decided to sit with his friends in the regular side of the stands to catch the remaining battles. Brent fought against Sebastian Masuta in the third round. He raised his voice to a shout to support his friend, but knowing what the siblings were capable of, he wasn't surprised at the outcome. Though Brent's Sentret deftly weaved in between powerful beam attacks, it was eventually overpowered by a Dragon Claw. Zuki even raised her voice in a guttural shout he'd expect from any sports fan, but upon noticing this, she covered her mouth with her hand and tried to compose herself.

As he returned to the stands, Ciel held out a fist to Brent. "You kept him on his toes."

The other boy fist-bumped him. "I'm satisfied that we tried our best. That's all I want my team to do."

Crystal made it through the third round and faced off against a tall, bearded man in leathers in her fourth-round battle. He brought with him an army of Dark-type Pokémon, and though she was able to put down his Sneasel, Crystal was overpowered by a foreign Pokémon called Inkay. The final score was 2-0, and she met the biker in the middle to shake hands. The man offered her a massive hug and thanked her for her battle before he left.

Ciel, Brent, Zuki, Gold, and the reclusive Silver met and congratulated Crystal in the stands. She was pulled into another, more crushing hug by Gold. "I'll never forgive you for making it further than me, sister, but your Pokémon were awesome! Marigold, do your thing!"

He held his partner with both hands in front of Crystal. Marigold put on a face of pure determination—her cheeks puffed, and she began almost turning red. Ciel didn't even know plant-based Pokémon _had_ blood. With a triumphant squeak, a bud extended from her leaf and bloomed instantly into a luminous, white flower. "Here's your present," he said while shoving his partner into the girl's grasp. Marigold relished the physical affection. "See, it's a marigold! Like her name."

Crystal held up the Chikorita confusedly, met with an adorable squeak. "I think this is a magnolia, Gold."

"Shut up, sister. I'm mad that you made it further than me so I'm not listening to you for a while." He blew a raspberry at her.

By the end of the fourth round, none of his friends were paying attention to the tournament. The previous night's encounter threatened to enter his mind, but Lyra tapped his shoulder.

"Hey, Ciel, check this out." She brandished a deep orange stone, radial in shape and covered in soft spines. "It's a Sun Stone, they gave it to me for getting to the fourth round. I think I can induce Ray to evolve with this."

He marveled at the stone. "Wow, that's cool. Just be prepared for him to take it easy for a while. Wait, don't I get a prize?"

"I think so. The guy at the prize counter down below said everyone, even first-round eliminations, gets something out of the tournament. You could go check after."

The Masuta siblings were sweeping the tournament. Through the fifth and sixth rounds, they demolished their opponents with the same overwhelming power Ciel had been exposed to. He wasn't even sure Kris had healed her Charizard the entire day, as he could see her return to the stands with her family immediately after each round.

Ciel's neck itched and he scratched at the bandage. An image of sharp metal and the word "sister" ran through his mind. Immediately, Gold snapped by his face.

"Ciel, Marigold is getting pretty strong. Do you _Bayleef_ she will evolve soon?" he asked with an innocent grin.

Ciel covered his face with his hand and snorted. "I don't know how she puts up with you."

"You're making a lot of assumptions there," Crystal said.

The crowd grew silent as the Director stepped up upon her podium. She waved an arm to cease any further chatter. "And now, for the moment you've all been waiting for! The finals match between our two best battlers. It's a sibling rivalry, so expect it to be particularly bloody. I present to you, Participants 25 and 52, Christine and Sebastian Masuta!"

The siblings took the stage and revealed their draconic fighters. Their faces, confident grins plastered on both, appeared on all the screens in the stadium. A prominent "VS" split their visages.

"But before that, a special message from our two honored guests. I invite Cynthia and Lance back to the stage to give some final words before our tournament reaches its climax. I'd suggest you kids listen and you might learn something." She sneered and left the stage, only to be replaced by the legends atop the world.

"To all in attendance, we treasure your participating over these past two days," said Lance. This time, he had a line mic broadcasting his voice, rather than a handheld one. "This event has been nothing short of magical, and the Goldenrod Showdown has once again shown off the finest rising talent this region and beyond has to offer."

"However," interrupted Cynthia, "the tournament season isn't yet over. The biennial World Trial is looming next month, and my husband and I will be traveling to the Grand Axis to test our mettle. We urge you to catch the battles on television or even venture to the center of the world yourself. For all those participating today, you can marvel at the kind of Trainers you should aspire to be, and we hope to see you there in due time."

Both spoke in unison. "And without further ado, let the final battle begin!"

The Masuta twins called their first attacks. Dragonite and Charizard met in the middle with devastating claw attacks, causing a shockwave to tear through the entire arena, penetrating even through the energy barriers.

Ciel and his group sat patiently as the battle unfolded. It was exciting, sure, but there was something dissatisfying about it. Brent was the first one to voice all their thoughts.

"Does anyone else think it's kind of unfair that the two finalists are the Champions' kids? Did we even have a chance?"

Kris and Saber's Pokémon released their signature beam attacks. Flamethrower and Hyper Beam exploded as they collided.

The six, even Silver, all grunted in unison.

* * *

Ciel walked with his family to the platform of Goldenrod's main train station. A sleek passenger bullet train sat ready for its next departure; they had arrived just in time. When they stepped up to the crowd of people waiting to board, Ciel made sure to keep his head held high.

"Are you sure you don't want to come back with us, Ciel?" his mother asked. "You can always put your Gym Challenge on hold. There's no rush, just so you know."

He could hear the underlying concern, and the bandage around his neck was the cause. He just hugged and spoke with his head against her chest. "I'll be fine, mom. I'll make sure to keep my Pokémon with me and be more careful walking around at night. You're going to keep an eye on Laina, right?"

"Of course, dear. I'm not going to let anything happen to her, so you better not let anything happen to you."

"Hey!" his sister complained. "I don't need people to look after me. I'm eleven, and I can more than look after myself!"

"Is that so, you little baby?" Ciel grabbed her cheeks, gently, and shook them back and forth. She recoiled. "Grownups don't whine like that." This only caused another huff.

"Are you ladies coming?" called Pryce, who stood close to the yellow line. The train was beginning to board. "We're going to need to be back in Mahogany by tomorrow. The League already gave you a week off and you know they aren't willing to stretch it."

"Of course, _Master Yanagi_. Come on, Laina, we should be going." She took her daughter's hand.

The three of them waved their goodbyes. Pryce called back, "I'll be waiting for your return to Mahogany, son. This tournament was only the first test of how far you've come."

Together, they boarded the train, and nearly every other passenger disappeared into the closing doors of the vehicle. Only a single person was left.

Raven walked between his legs and rubbed herself on him, but upon noticing the man, she growled. The Absol bared her sickle and her white fur stood on end. Ciel held her Poké Ball tightly in his hand as he stared down his father. Eventually, he would have to return to his new home, and face both of his parents in battle for the Glacier Badge. He wasn't sure he'd be ready to test himself against his father no matter the training he underwent.

Daku Fauder didn't speak, but his words echoed in Ciel's mind. _"I'll be trying my best. I'll call you later, Ciel."_ A half-hearted smile was all the man had to give, which Ciel returned with a simple frown. It wasn't that easy.

He boarded the train just as it began to move. It passed out of view into the north. Ciel waved for as long as it was in view.

* * *

 **For this chapter, I was suggested to take a different approach to my storytelling to try to improve my writing. As much as I love the deconstructive power of internal monologues, I tried this chapter to refrain from fully detailing thought processes and see if I could convey it further through outward choices. Apologies if this chapter feels a little different than usual.**

 **I admittedly think I rushed the ending of the tournament somewhat, but I found it a preferable alternative to letting it spill over into Chapter 16. It was supposed to end last chapter originally, but as I mentioned in 13, there ended up being so much content that I was struggling to remain brief. I now understand full well why tournament arcs in anime tend to drag on. It just keeps going. I'm not satisfied with how quick the ending felt, even if I had the outcome planned from the start; it was a learning experience to do something like this, but it both wasn't easy and isn't something I want to do again soon.**

 **This chapter suffered from too little editing time. I'd already pushed double my standard window for releasing a new chapter and was trying desperately to get it out without having to extend another week. Overall, the production for this chapter was a mess. I want to be positive and say it didn't impact the quality, but I'm not going to kid myself.**

 **This is also the first chapter to have a true deleted scene. Usually I move unused scenes around or cut up some of their contents for use elsewhere, but this time I just straight up cut it because I thought it was unnecessary. It was a conversation between Gold and Crystal in the stands in response to Arden evolving, meant to give context on how evolutions work, but I figured that since I had Elm explain it in a wall of text earlier it wasn't needed.**

 **Next chapter is supposed to be the ending of the first major "story arc", as it were. This is still tentative as I had to extend this tournament and I may or may not add a chapter to compensate. I'll keep updates on my profile to reflect what's happening.**

 **Next time - Chapter 16: Summer of Change. Signing off.**


	16. Summer of Change

**This story is co-developed and edited by Titan127.**

 **Disclaimer: Pokémon is a registered property of Nintendo, the Pokémon Company, and GameFreak. This work respectfully uses the world and characters of the Pokémon series, with no intent of harm on the original creators. Please support the official releases of the Pokémon franchise.**

 **Chapter 16: Summer of Change (6,285 words)**

* * *

He applied force, but too much force, and the whole bag of marshmallows spilled messily onto the dirt-caked ground. Ciel held them up to his face in disappointment. "Uhh, sorry guys."

"Don't sweat it," Brent said, pointing at the remaining treats at the bottom. "There's still enough for all of us."

Three skewers later, the two boys, along with Zuki, were ready for a global campfire tradition. Arden breathed a powerful burst of flame that lit their bundle of kindling despite a lack or lighter fluid. Soft flashes of light from the licking flames covered their temporary campsite in a warm glow, the underside of their faces brightened by the fire amidst the night.

Ciel hovered his hand over his Quilava's head, and in response, the Pokémon cut his ignition to allow the Trainer to scratch him between the ears. "Thanks for the help, buddy. You seem like you're finally back to top condition, huh?"

Arden fired excitedly and engulfed Ciel's hand in flames for a split second. Ciel reeled back and hissed between his teeth. He rubbed the burn but laughed. "I'll take that as a yes."

"No more stalling, Ciel. It's marshmallow time!" Brent thrust his skewered snack over the flames in an exaggerated, fencing-like motion.

Ciel followed suit with less flair. Zuki, at first, was apprehensive about putting herself near an open flame, but Brent urged her on and she soon had her own marshmallow roasting.

"Sucks that we don't have any takoyaki to go with this," Ciel said with a frown. It's a Johtoan tradition to eat marshmallows alongside fried Octillery snacks, giving the perfect mix of sweet and savory. The best they could substitute was some jerky and canned food the group had packed. The items were traded around, and each member of the party took what they wanted.

Brent pulled his skewer from the flame and shoved the end in his mouth. He downed the entire marshmallow in a single gulp. "Mmmng, this is so good," he said, muffled by the gooey substance in his mouth.

"Don't speak with your mouth full. You know it's rude," chastised Zuki with a stern finger. She rotated her own cooked treat around to examine its composition. Hesitantly, she poked it with her index finger, but pulled away at the heat.

"Have you never had roasted marshmallows before?" Brent asked, accompanied by a sly grin.

Zuki leveled her gaze downward. She scratched her arm. "Mother never allowed us to go camping like this. Or have sweets. I'm… unfamiliar with all of this."

A look of panic crossed Brent's face and he scrambled backwards over his words. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hurt your feelings by saying that. Really, I was just a joke." He trailed off and joined her in staring at the ground.

Then shebackpedaled. "No, no, no, I wasn't taking any offense. Really, I wasn't. I'm just uninitiated!"

Ciel quietly ate his marshmallow as the two countered each other's apologies in increasingly ridiculous ways. Could they be any _more_ obvious? He held the skewer out to Arden, who chomped the remainder of the marshmallow off the stick. Raven strolled over from a napping spot, and after giving her Trainer a sour look at the lack of sweets for herself, Ciel skewered another marshmallow for her.

"I suppose I owe you two an explanation." Zuki let out a long sigh, bringing the boys to attention. "I mentioned before that I ran away from my home in Ecruteak, hence why my bodyguards were so eager to find me. Mother is the matriarch of the Dento family, which has owned Ecruteak's Kimono Dance Theater for over forty generations. The boys born in the family are free to pursue their own interests and leave the house as they become adults. But the girls… they are sequestered within the Dento house, fated to train their entire lives as dancers to fulfill the family's traditional role as performers."

Ciel's eyes drifted down to her clothing. She sat with her legs folded under themselves, her feet and sandals facing upwards. Her posture was stiff, her back was straight, and for as long as they'd traveled together, he'd never seen her wearing a different outfit. She carried with her a large bag sealed with a ribbon, which he assumed held sets of spare clothing. It must have only had multiple copies of the same full kimono set.

"I've been dancing for at least thirteen years, since I was five, and I'd only left my hometown a single time for a rare traveling performance. Mother strictly planned my schedule, my eating habits, my practice time, and even my social time with friends and my sisters. I don't hate dancing but knowing that I've never really had a choice has made me want to see more."

She stared at the marshmallow, which had cooled as she spoke, and took a small bite. Her face lit up. "Like this! This is what I've wanted to experience. It's so _pedestrian_ , but I can't remember the last time I ate something so pleasurable. There's an entire half, maybe more, of a world that I've been disconnected to for so long because it's not proper and not fit for someone tasked with fulfilling the traditions of the Dento family. Speaking of, what is this thing even made of?"

"It's just sugar," Ciel told her. "Nothing else."

Zuki pulled the remainder of the gooey, toasted item from the skewer and threw the entire thing down her gullet. She swallowed—after struggling to push the nearly-whole marshmallow down her throat—and smiled. She coughed. "If sugar alone can make me happy, I want _more_."

Ciel realized what their movement north meant. "We're heading to Ecruteak, aren't we?"

"I mean, we don't have to. We could detour around the city and move on, since we don't have to face Gyms in a certain order to win the Gym Challenge," said Brent. "I don't want to cause you any harm by putting you back where you ran from."

"No." Zuki's words were authoritative Even outside a theater, she commanded attention like a dancer on stage when she wanted to. "I had a conversation while you two participated in that tournament that told me something about myself. Continuously, I haven't been able to stand up for myself and I've left it to others. Well, if I'm going to experience the world on my terms, I need to confront Mother and make it clear that I won't stand to be ordered by her further."

Zuki stood from her position and held a fist tight. "We're going to Ecruteak. We all have business there, and we're going to complete it."

The two boys nodded. "Right."

"All three of us have a family problem, huh? I'll put on another round of marshmallows in the name of twisted genealogy.!" announced Brent. "We three few are on our way to make everything better, and we need sugar to keep our energy up."

Ciel laughed out loud. It might have been the first time in over half a decade that he had a positive thought in relation to his father. He put more treats on for the rest of his Pokémon and focused on letting them cook.

* * *

"You see that old lady? The one with the oversized handbag?"

Silver followed the girl's pointed finger. Sure enough, an old crone waddled slowly down a crosswalk. The stoplight had already switched from red to blue and vehicles aggressively honked all around the woman. It wasn't making her walk any faster, but the cars trying to force their way around threatened to run her down.

The girl crossed her arms. "Go help her."

"What kind of fucking cliché garbage is this?" Silver sneered. "How's this supposed to help me become a stronger Trainer and defeat the Rockets? This is just menial busywork."

"What I say goes, Silver," she stated bluntly. "This is my training, and if you don't follow it, you aren't getting your Pokémon back. We made that clear when you started tagging along."

He turned his head to the moron, who also had his arms crossed. Silver felt like he was being ganged up on again, and he was still no closer to stopping the Rockets. If he had found another way to heal his Pokémon after the fight in the well, he could have easily continued training as normal. Instead, he intentionally threw himself a roadblock, and now he hadn't battled with _his_ Croconaw in over a month. The volume of honks ballooned, and the girl issued a resolute, "I'm waiting."

Silver clenched his fists, shook his head, and took off down the street. Using his height to his advantage, he jumped over one small compact, then he weaved through a few more vehicles to reach the old woman. Among the cacophony, neither of them could hear each other's voices, but he signaled her to follow him. He offered her his arms, with which she was able to walk faster due to the extra support. The lady crossed safely, and as he was about to turn around to make his dissatisfaction clear to the two, the woman handed him a ₽500 coin.

Silver looked at the coin, then at her face, then back at the coin. The old lady insisted. He hesitantly pocketed the coin and watched the geezer waddle away, not a care in the world. Silver planted himself on the ground with a huff.

The two halfwits themselves crossed the street on the next traffic cycle. "See, that wasn't so bad, was it? You even got a gift," she said. "You should hide your face. We don't know if the police are still looking for you or not."

"Wait, why is _he_ getting paid? I don't get paid when I help people on the street," the moron whined.

"Offering to carry someone's Houndour that can easily walk itself isn't an act of goodwill. You just wanted to pet it," she countered.

He muttered under his breath, "good boys deserve to be spoiled."

Silver ignored them and pulled up his hood. Hearing their voices and bickering was grating, and he just wanted to get over with whatever stupid "training" they had left that day. They crossed an alley leading to a dead end, and upon noticing it was filled with strewn garbage despite a nearby dumpster, Silver began to walk faster. At this point, he knew her well enough...

"Hey, Silver, get over here." She rolled up the sleeves of her shirt and undid her overall straps, just as she'd done in Slowpoke Well. "We've got some work to do."

Silver spent the next few hours picking up trash. Gruelingly, annoyedly, grumpily picking up nasty garbage. He spent over two years scrounging around in dumpsters after separating from the Rockets, but it didn't make him an expert in this kind of stuff. The girl was trying to punish him. He wiped the midsummer heat from his brow.

Silver picked up a torn trash bag, which spilled all its contents onto the ground. A whole Rattata fell out and hissed at him, but he shooed the purple rodent away. It just hissed at him again, so he tossed an empty food can, which was enough to cause it to scurry away.

He finished one section of the alleyway and moved slowly along the wall. This put him right next to _the girl._ She was the worst part of this stupid "training" regimen. Rarely did she exclude herself from the tasks she assigned Silver and looking at her doing the same tasks made him boil inside. She was _mocking_ him. In no way did he need help to do menial shit, so her coddling him made him want to punch her stupid, puffy face.

But he never did. Instead, he just continued picking up trash, pitching it into the dumpster behind them. He was beginning to pant heavily and realized that he hadn't sat down for a break since they began cleaning. The heat was getting to him.

He saw her struggling to lift a partly broken rocking chair. She heaved once, twice, three times, before setting it back down. It was only moving a couple of inches at a time. "Hey, Silver, you're tall and strong, right? Help me out with this."

Silently, he grabbed the chair and lifted. It was awkward and unwieldy, but he managed to find a comfortable position to walk it back to the dumpster. The girl shouted a "thank you" at him before returning to work. He flipped her off when she wasn't looking.

The baseball cap idiot reappeared, also short of breath, and Silver never even noticed he'd left. Scrapes were visible on his shins and elbows, but he held in his hands two drink cans with a third balanced perfectly on his head. "Hey, I bought us all some drinks. This one's a scorcher, huh?"

The girl pushed herself to a stand and stared curiously at her friend. "There's a vending machine on every street corner in this city, so what gives? You were gone, like, twenty minutes."

"Oh, the first machine was broken. The second one was also broken, but somebody left some ₽200 coins in the return slot. That was good, because I didn't actually bring any money when I went for drinks. There were some suspicious people in masks robbing the third one, so I just skipped that block. The fourth one broke _while_ I was using it, and I physically busted the fifth one by skip-trip-rolling into it like a bowling ball. So yeah." He held up the two in his hands. "Lemonade!"

Silver swiped one as fast as he finished his explanation and downed half of it in a single swig. A content sight passed his lips as he dropped to his rear by a now-clean wall. No one bothered him for five minutes as he sat and finished his drink. It was nice.

"We've done most of it so far," the girl said finally as she surveyed the alleyway. They had moved slowly down the block and were nearing the exit onto the opposite street. "If we speed ourselves up, we can get done in thirty minutes. Gold, call out your Pokémon. We didn't do any training today, so this'll make up for it."

"Yes, sir!" he confirmed with a salute.

Both Trainers released their Pokémon. In a row, six bodies materialized, all ready for action. The moron's Bayleef revealed her yellow coat as the materialization beam's red disappeared. Her body was a lot bulkier due to its evolution and regularly bodied her Trainer when trying to show physical affection. Obviously, it hadn't adapted to its own size, unlike his Croconaw.

The Togepi and the Slowpoke he owned also got to work moving small objects, while that Spinarak gave them extra support by hanging along the wall and pulling upwards on heavier items with shot webbing. The moron twisted his cap around and began directing the creatures like a ship captain. The girl's Sunflora marveled at the existence of its own limbs-flexible leaves, more like. Its own evolution had sprouted a full body underneath its ovular head, though it hadn't fixed the creepy, unmoving smile. It rejoiced by waving its leaves around every time it tossed a piece of detritus into the open dumpster.

Someone had tossed a couch near the end of the alleyway, and when Silver approached to move it, it was lifted out from under him single-handedly by her Marill. It casually walked the piece of furniture over to the dumpster, supported only by a single of its hand nubs. Silver crossed his arms and grumbled at being outdone. Even more so, he hated not having his own Pokémon to help.

The team of nine completed their remaining work within the predicted thirty. The team heaved one last piece of metal scrap into the nearly-bursting dumpster, and everyone besides him cheered.

"Good work, everybody. Let's all head back to the Pokémon Center and get washed up to eat." She patted Silver on the back as she passed. "Thanks for all the help. I'm a bit too small to handle the big stuff."

She, the cap moron, and their Pokémon all walked triumphantly onto the street like a sports team celebrating victory. Silver took a few moments to breathe and convince himself that it was making him a stronger Trainer. However, that excuse was beginning to weaken. He wasn't sure how much longer it would last.

* * *

Click.

"No, that one doesn't get my hair right. Needs to be spikier," Ciel said as he ran a hand through his scalp.

Click.

"I blinked in that one. Do it again," Brent complained. "I have to look good to send it to my mom."

Click.

"You covered my face with those victory signs of yours." Zuki herself snatched the Poké GEAR right off Ciel's wrist and without warning snapped one final picture.

Click.

A massive weight on Ciel's head caused him to fall backwards to the ground. The culprit fluttered to correct himself before landing beside his Trainer's head. Clovis pecked his nose. "You are _way_ too big to be doing that now. You're going to break my neck."

Clovis puffed his chest feathers. Evolving into Pidgeotto caused his plumage to enlarge and he'd grown more distinct areas of color along his crest and tail. Obviously, he must be royalty with a beautiful coat such as his, and it led him to flaunt his appearance at every possible moment. A heavy _and_ vain bird was all Ciel needed.

He groaned and sat up. "How's the picture?"

Zuki handed him back the Poké GEAR with the screen still open to his photo gallery. "Aside from you being about to fall over, it's serviceable."

"I'm sure Gold and Crystal will get a kick out of it," he said "He attached it to a text message to the former saying that they were on the way to the National Park and hit send. Having an actual phone was a convenience he wasn't sure how he lived without.

"Do you even have a Poké GEAR, Brent?" asked Ciel. "I've been meaning to ask for your phone number, but we've been traveling together since Azalea."

Brent pulled a device out of his pocket. It looked like the face of a watch with a large piece extending below it. "Only this old piece of junk. It's all my mom could afford a while ago, but even though she's gotten more money, I've kept it. It's got some sentimental value."

The two exchanged numbers and Ciel attached the same photo in another text to Brent. As he exited the texting application, a notification flashed on the front page. A single missed call with the name "Daku" blinked to draw attention. A voicemail was attached. Ciel hovered his finger over it.

"Ciel, are you coming? The National Park isn't much further and we can probably find someplace to stay tonight there," called Brent, who had begun to walk ahead.

Ciel clamped his Poké GEAR closed and smiled. "Right behind you."

The approach to the natural park led them into progressively denser forests. The trees grew taller and the ground foliage exploded. A combination of the summer heat and ambient insect buzzing disturbed the atmosphere He rubbed his eyes when he noticed the contours of each tree vibrate. A sweat crept up on him. Ciel adjusted his collar to hopefully let some air in, but to no avail. It was getting to him.

"Zuki, aren't you hot in your dress?" Brent posed to the Kimono Girl. "I'm dying out here, but you're in way more layers than I am."

"As a matter of fact, I'm not," she said. "Our kimonos are specially designed for optimal airflow to prevent overheating while dancing. Not that I have a choice of wardrobe at the moment, but I'm actually quite comfortable."

"Lucky," Ciel mumbled while rolling up his sleeves. Tucking them into the torso fashioned a makeshift sleeveless shirt. In the moment, he had a better idea. "Hey, Clovis! Do you remember that move that Falkner's Pidgeotto did to mess with the air currents? It was called Tailwind."

Clovis, who had been hovering beside them and dodging between the trees, cocked his head. He chirped-more like squawked, since his "voice" had deepened-but showed no sign of understanding.

"Oh, right, you didn't really see that move. Just try to, you know…" Ciel flapped his own arms back and forth. "Like this, right?"

"You look like a moron," Brent said.

"A moron with a mission," Ciel replied, still flapping his arms.

Clovis took up his suggestion and beat his wings as hard as possible. Ciel was almost knocked off his feet by the force of his evolved Pokémon's motion. They were too concentrated, much more like Gust than Tailwind. "Hey, Clovis, you need to slow down and spread your beating out further!" Ciel shouted over the wind.

His Pidgeotto attempted to change course, but one of his wings punched into a tree's trunk. With an exclamation, the bird Pokémon spiraled to the forest floor, only barely catching his own fall and landing on his talons. He looked Ciel and complained. The Trainer shrugged.

"Ciel, I think your Pidgeotto flapped a little too hard," said Brent. His hair had been blown into a complete mess, as had Zuki's. She was struggling to rearrange her hair ornaments to return herself to some semblance and propriety.

Ciel scratched the back of his head. "Sorry about that," he said. "On the plus side, I feel cool and refreshed."

The buzzing was getting louder. After long enough, Ciel could barely hear his own thoughts. Ledyba crawling up and down each tree probably contributed to the cacophony as the red-backed creates took off and landed repeatedly. Clovis pecked at a few, but there were too many to bother. A Yanma floated in front of him, but he swatted it away.

"Heeeeeeeeeelp! Heeeeeeeeeelp!" A cry echoed through the dense forest. All of them could make it out within the insect chorus. Ciel hesitated at the shout.

However, Brent had already broken into a jog. "Time to be a hero," he said. Ciel and Zuki were almost left behind.

* * *

The three of them arrived promptly at the scene of the trouble with Brent seconds faster. He and Ciel had their partners at the ready. Raven angled her scythe-ear forward, but immediately she was thrown off by the amassed vibrations around them. Sentret wasn't faring much better due to the size of its ears.

"Oh no, this is bad bad bad bad bad badbadbadbadbadbadbad! Everything is going wrong!" expressed a man in a red suit, white gloves, and prim hat. He adjusted his gloves repeatedly, slipping them on and off his fingers, and paced in front of a small fountain. "This just won't do, this certainly won't do! The Bug-Catching Contest cannot begin in this state, and the manager will kill me!"

"Well, this is familiar," Ciel said.

"What do you mean?" asked Brent.

"Don't worry about it. Hey, bellhop guy, what's going on here?"

The man crossed the distance in an instant to kneel before them and tug at their shirts. "Oh please, sirs! Some of the Bug Pokémon are on a rampage and they're destroying the National Park! The Bug-Catching contest was supposed to be today."

"I need someone to stop the rampaging Pokémon so the contest can go on. You will help me, yes? Oh, thank you!" The man abruptly stood up and began bowing indefinitely. Ciel and Brent both tilted their heads to follow the movement of the man's torso.

Brent shrugged, and said, "well, you heard the man." He withdrew a Poké Ball from his pocket. "If this is a Bug-Catching Content, we better do just that."

"I'll see if I can calm the poor man down in the meantime," said Zuki.

The two Trainers launched off into the National Park with their partner Pokémon jogging aside them. Unlike the untamed forest outside, the park looked meticulously kept. They sprinted the length of an arced bridged crossing a creek before finding themselves following a curved sidewalk. Streetlights passed them at regular intervals on the right, while their left was populated by bushes taller than he was that stretched as far as he could see down the path. Was the whole park organized as a circle?

"I'm not seeing any rampaging insects, Ciel," called Brent behind him. "In fact, everything here looks scared. That's probably what's causing all the buzzing."

Ciel cast his eyes over the sea of bushes. Flashes of yellow, red, and purple caught his eye. Sunkern, Ledyba, and Spinarak cowered within the bushes, trying to find cover from _something._ A few stragglers on the paths darted back into the bushes as they passed.

Ciel spied a fallen tree to his right. Its center was completely splintered, leaving its top half to topple backwards into the grass. Ciel guessed it must have been hit with some insane force to cause that kind of destruction.

"I need you to do some recon, Clovis," he shouted to the Flying-type. "Some Pokémon are causing trouble here but the grasses are too tall. Can you check it out?"

His Pidgeotto gave him an affirming squawk before firing off across the park. The Trainers continued along the path and Ciel popped open his Poké GEAR. "I'm searching through my Pokedex, but it's hard to narrow down a Pokémon to 'it punches trees really hard.' Any suggestions?"

Brent thought for a moment. His breathing was labored from their run. "I did a class on Johtoan ecology last year in college. Around this area, you get big colonies of things like Pinsir and Scyther that get steamed around mating time. I don't think they have a specific season, so you have to be prepared whenever. It could also be Vespiquen. Apparently, they're an invasive species here and can bully some of the natural species, but I don't think Vespiquen can punch a tree into exploding."

"At least we have a few options. Get ready for a passenger, Raven," he called to his partner. He released another Pokémon, this time aiming Arden's Poké Ball at his partner's back. The beam landed against her fur and materialized into his Quilava. Arden nearly fell off the moving perch but managed to steady himself atop his mount. The rodent Pokémon shot him a knowing glance before igniting to full power.

A signal from the sky altered him to Clovis circling ahead, trying to get their attention. He nodded, Brent agreed, and their entire party jumped into the brush. Raven bucked her rear to launch Arden into the air and Clovis swooped down to grab the rodent within his talons. Ciel hadn't even considered it, so he thanked his Pokémon for avoiding contact between Arden's flames and the park's greenery.

Brent took the lead as they swatted their way past the bushes. Ahead of him, his Sentret swung its tail forward to clear their path, but Ciel still felt his clothing getting snagged on various branches. Among the buzzing, he made out a metallic clanging, not unlike Westwood's Pawniard in the tournament. Whatever it was, it was close.

The Trainers burst from the bushes into an open central mall of the National Park where a gargantuan, multilayered fountain stood. They had barely a moment to admire it before the collision of two Pokémon utterly shattered the fountain's spout in a shower of water and debris.

"Whoa!" shouted Brent, bracing himself. Ciel shielded himself from some flying stones with his forearms and felt his entire body nearly flung off his feet from the shockwave.

They finally had a clear view of the quarreling creatures. To his right a Scyther flared its wings in fury. He'd seen the creature before in some televised battles; its body was mostly green and humanoid in shape, but most of its parts were segmented between rounded joints and thin connective pieces. Its forearms terminated in massive blades and the owner made their current target clear.

A rounded blue Pokémon was the opponent. It had powerful, plated limbs and a horn as long as its whole body. The only thing to break up its sandy blue plating was a pair of beady, golden eyes fixated solely on the opposite Pokémon. Ciel didn't recognize it. Was it rare?

"Heracross," Brent said. "They're passive. They don't start fights, but they do end them. The Scyther must have done something to piss it off."

The warring Pokémon clashed. A wide swing from the Scyther's claws prompted the Heracross to put up its front limbs in defense. The force of the swing sent it spiraling in their direction.

"Raven, use Slash to knock it out of the way!" Ciel ordered.

His partner hopped into the air and swung her sickle wide. The weapon collided with the Heracross's body in a resounding clang to redirect its momentum a few meters away, where it crashed into the ground. Immediately it returned to its feet and took flight to resume the fight. The Trainers and their Pokémon were completely ignored.

"Is _that_ the thing that punched the tree?" Ciel asked with an incredulous look.

Brent didn't answer. The question was rhetorical anyway, since the Scyther would have left clean cuts in its own destruction. "Ciel, you need to get your Quilava up into the air to rain pressure on both of them. Get him above the spout of the busted fountain," Brent ordered.

Ciel blinked. "Err, right." He relayed the command to Clovis, who circled upwards with Arden held firmly in his talons. Once they reached the desired altitude, his Quilava began firing Embers down between the brawling insects. The beasts were caught by surprise and reeled back, but neither of them diverted the attention from their enemies and immediately resumed parley. If anything, that was a blessing. 'Keep peppering them, Arden! They won't come after you!"

Arden launched Embers at the warring parties, washing them over with flames. Unfortunately, neither side seemed bothered by the attack because the beating of their wings snuffed major areas from catching. Still, he began to wear them down. As they clashed again, he could see exhaustion in both parties.

Brent shouted, "Sentret, use Sucker Punch!"

His partner launched off its tail to cross the fountain. It deftly landed on its feet atop the crumbling fountain. Scyther and Heracross charged. Sentret was caught in the middle.

The small mammal propped itself up on its tail, knocking dust off the fountain's spire as it did so. The charging Pokémon maintained their momentum, ignoring the obstruction. They were going to annihilate it between their clashing weapons. The Scyther reeled back a blade; the Heracross drew back a fist.

Sentret ducked, and both Pokémon clashed in the middle with another shockwave. Brent's Sentret barely swept under the clash. The Scyther's weapon dug into the Heracross's shoulder-the wound dripped a sickly yellow liquid. Comparatively, one half of the Scyther's entire exoskeleton had cracked from a devastating punch to its chest.

With the Pokémon locked with each other, Brent's partner took its opportunity and swiftly delivered two gut punches to both combatant's abdomens. Ciel watched in shock as the raging insects fell limply into the fountain water.

Brent grunted and tossed a Great Ball into the fountain. The capsule clicked open and dematerialized the Heracross before falling into the water itself. They couldn't see the object over the rim of the fountain, but after ten seconds, they knew it had been caught.

The Scyther, surprisingly, managed to rouse itself enough to begin a weakened retreat. Ciel waved his arm up at the circling duo, causing Arden to land an Ember dead between the Bug-type's wings. It fell flat onto the ground and Ciel tossed his own Poké Ball to the creature, which shook to a standstill.

He turned to Brent, who was fishing his new capture out of the pond. "That was amazing, man! You put a lot of faith in your partner."

"I have to," Brent asserted, "or else we won't be able to be heroes together."

Ciel roughly tumbled to a sitting position on the ground, exhausted by the jog, the heat, and the stressful situation. "You really do want to be a hero, huh? How do you do it?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know, just jump into action like that? I had a lump in my throat the whole time, but you never even slowed down." Ciel swallowed said lump, realizing he'd been holding in some breaths as well. He examined the information panel on his Poké Ball, displaying "SCYTHER" and a male sex symbol.

Brent sat down as well, and the two Trainers stared at each other. "I don't know. It's never really felt like I've had to overcome anything. If something needs doing, I just do it."

Ciel sighed. "I offered to help Gold and Crystal if they ever needed to face the Rockets, but now that I think about it, I don't know if I'll have the guts to go through with it." He scratched at the cut on his neck. It had scarred, not healed, and was still a little raw.

"Don't worry about it. Just putting yourself out there means a lot, too."

Ciel knew he looked up to Brent, but he was also depending on him so much for his own goal. That Ciel wanted to protect people he loved was built off Brent's own goal to be a hero. But Brent held his goal closer to his heart than he did and could act on it without hesitation. Even Zuki suggested that she was going to throw herself forward in front of her mother to grow as a person. How could Ciel learn to do the same if he had to wait for his friend to lead them forward?

"Hey, are you doing okay, Ciel?" he asked.

Ciel snapped out of it and shook his head. "I'm fine. Just too much excitement for one afternoon."

Brent's Sentret landed beside them in the grass after jumping from the fountain. It shined brilliantly. Ciel shielded his eyes as the sudden evolution radiated around Sentret's small body. The amorphous white mass exploded in length, spontaneously developing bushy fur around the tail that made its whole form seem continuous. Its ears and limbs also altered in shape, and it appeared to Ciel that the Sentret's forearms became noticeable smaller with the change.

Brent managed to catch his partner just in time as the evolution dissipated. The new form of Furret lied exhausted in his arms.

"I can't believe it, buddy! You're a Furret now! I'm so proud of you," Brent said. The Trainer gently scratched between his partner's ears to soothe the Pokémon as it adapted to its new body.

Zuki and the park manager found their way to the pair of Trainers after a couple of minutes. The poor man was still melting down, but at least seemed relieved that the two Pokémon were contained. Brent proposed to him that they needed to trade the newly captured insects to the manager's account because they were caught in a protected area, but the manager insisted otherwise.

"I hereby deputize you two fine fellows as having taken part in the Bug-Catching Contest! This way, your catching of these two creatures is considered legal and within the quota of the National Park's jurisdiction." He began to break down into tears again. "But this mess is going to take a while to clean up."

"Are you sure you don't want us to stay to help?" Brent asked immediately. Ciel once again felt his heart drop that his friend jumped to help before he did.

"No, no, no, no, that won't be necessary. You've been a big help already, yes? Just be on your way and leave this to the Park authorities" the manager replied.

"If you're sure," muttered Ciel. "Hey, you wouldn't happen to have any healing supplies around, would you? His Pokémon just evolved and could use the help."

"Yes, yes, yes, of course!" the man shouted. He adjusted his jacket and cap and puffed out his chest, as if trying to return a sense of authority to himself. "I could whip up a nutrient mixture from the berries and apricorns native to the park in no time. You could stay and rest for the night in my cabin!"

Ciel looked to the other two for confirmation. Zuki spoke up. "We'll need to get some rest before we get to Ecruteak. It's still another week on foot, and some hospitality would be nice."

"You heard the girl, Ciel," Brent said. "Let's just take some rest and relaxation when we can find it, especially since we've got some big stuff to deal with when we hit the city."

Ciel nodded, and the three followed the park manager back to his cabin. Still, he couldn't keep his mind off Brent. When they first met, he looked up to the man as a role model. A good one. But, now, doing so left him feeling like he wasn't enough of his own person with his own goals. He needed to find a way to drive himself as a Trainer, a way to internalize his objective.

An idea struck him, one he played with in his mind as they relaxed through the afternoon. He couldn't tell if it would help him, but the more he thought on it, the more he thought it was the right decision. Once they got to Ecruteak, he'd make his choice.

* * *

 **Endgame.**

 **(No spoilers ahead. Didn't mean to scare you.)**

 **I was absolutely blown away. Seriously. I love long-form storytelling, the ability to convincingly tell a narrative over hundreds of thousands of words, or in this case, eleven years of storytelling. Being able to bring such a realized world dripping with continuity and life to a satisfying conclusion leaves me satisfied beyond my imagination. I cannot recommend it enough. Go see this movie.**

 **I was debated cutting this chapter from the story to counter some previous extensions, hence why the last chapter originally said "Every Man's Own Way" came next. Had it been cut, they would have gone right to Ecruteak, but I felt like I needed some setup for things to come and I wanted a little more travel elements to balance out the fact that the characters had been in the same place for the past five chapters. This chapter was originally titled "Perfect Synergy", but I renamed it considering the number of evolutions referenced here.**

 **By the way, Gold is my favorite character in this story. Every piece of dialogue I write with him is a hoot.**

 **Next time, the conclusion to the first story arc, Chapter 17: Every Man's Own Way. Stay tuned!**


	17. Every Man's Own Way

**This story is co-developed and edited by Titan127.**

 **Disclaimer: Pokémon is a registered property of Nintendo, the Pokémon Company, and GameFreak. This work respectfully uses the world and characters of the Pokémon series, with no intent of harm on the original creators. Please support the official releases of the Pokémon franchise.**

 **This chapter has an extended Author's Note, hence why the page is so long. The actual chapter is accurate to the word count.**

 **Chapter 17: Every Man's Own Way (6,852 words)**

* * *

"Use Tailwind!" Ciel shouted.

A beat of Clovis's wings gave him clarity in battle. His opponents manifested themselves within the clearing fog. A blond-haired man with a headband and scarf remained partially obscured by the wisps. The rest of his clothing was out-of-place—a nice turtleneck and khakis—which only made his association with the occult more unsettling.

"Hypnosis," Morty ordered with repose. He waved his arm gracefully, as if directly controlling his Pokémon like a marionette.

The gaseous Pokémon concentrated its hands together and its vapor shifted from purple to an eerie pink. It pulsed, matched by a pulse of pain through Ciel's head. Pink-colored energies tended to be associated with the Psychic-type, so his choice was clear.

"Clovis, return!" he shouted as he tapped the button of his Poké Ball. His Pidgeotto dematerialized, and he quickly released another Pokémon to the field.

Annular waves discharged from the Haunter's hands and washed over the materializing form of his Absol. Raven stood tall as the Psychic blast passed directly through her. Ciel felt himself grow slightly drowsy, but she shook his head vigorously to bring himself back to reality.

He cast a smirk forward, met by a simple bored smirk from Morty. Until he beat Whitney, he kept finding himself nervous in the face of the Gym Challenge How could he, an amateur, ever hope to match some of the region's most powerful Trainers? He knew the answer to that now. The blond man bore into him with bags under his eyes. "Look, I'm having an off day and I can kinda tell how this battle is gonna go. Can we wrap this up, kid?"

This battle was his. He'd been practicing for months since he left home and had real competitive experience from the Goldenrod Showdown under his belt. Plus, the massive type advantage the Dark type afforded him would make Raven nearly untouchable. He threw his arm forward to command. "Night Slash."

Ciel felt power in his own leg muscles as a flash of white bounded to cross the arena. Dark-type energy coated her sickle. She torqued her entire body into her swing as the leapt into the air, driving the devastating blow into the Haunter's side. Not even Morty's call to evade was fast enough to dodge the blow, as the Tailwind at Raven's back further boosted her speed. The blade tore right through the Haunter in a clean cut, leaving the Ghost type to collapse on the floor. It's body flickered and a few of its gases threatened to escape, but it was recalled to its capsule to prevent any further harm.

The referee commanded silently from a sidelined position, partially obscured by the mist. She was an ancient-looking woman, eyes seemingly blind, but she waved her items to guide battle all the same. For the switching period, she waved a set of yellow prayer beads. Ciel knew what it meant by that point.

Morty's next Pokémon was a second Haunter. Ciel flicked his nose and ordered another Night Slash.

"Vanish!" shouted Morty.

Raven's attack sliced through nothingness, leaving her on guard. "Use your nose. It's made of gas, so it probably has a smell attached!" he said. The visible figures on the battlefield waited in tense silence until Ciel noticed that Raven's own shadow, cast by torches of flame rising through the fog, began to distort. He ordered, "Detect!"

His partner disappeared herself just as the Haunter raked a claw through the afterimage. In an instant she returned to the battlefield and delivered another finishing blow with her weapon.

Morty sighed while switching his Pokémon once again. This time another shadowy figure emerged, but even more corporeal than the previous. The rounded figure had a simple single color, short legs, spiked protrusions from its head region, and an eerie cheshire smile. It was Gengar, the final stage of evolution of Gastly's species. A wide-eyed younger Ciel used to rewatch a World Trial battle featuring a Gengar and Nidorino shown often on public TV. It was iconic.

"Night Slash!" Ciel shouted for a third time.

Raven met Morty's Gengar in a clash as the wide-smiling creature clamped its jaws down onto the blade to stop its momentum. The scene of Pryce's Piloswine running her through with the same move rahis mind and caused him to act. Her Dark-type energy still lingered in her blade. "Raven, roll along the ground to shake it off!"

"Shadow Ball," called Morty, causing his Pokémon to hold together its hands above its head. A sickly, globbed ball of darkness began to amass.

Before it could complete the attack, the Absol powered her muscles and twisted both connected bodies across the creaking boardwalk of the Mahogany Gym. With Gengar's teeth directly connected to a super-effective attack, its two choices were to allow itself to roll to avoid the sickle tearing into its cheeks or to let go. The latter option proved safer, and Raven barrel rolled into a battle stance once her opponent released pressure on her weapon. Morty's Gengar misfired its Shadow Ball into the fog.

Ciel threw out his arm. "Finish it. Quick Attack to Night Slash."

The barely recovered Gengar had few moments to react before it was cut clean through. Raven landed on her feet on the other side as Morty's Gengar collapsed to the ground. The referee jubilantly tossed a set of blue beads into the air.

Around them, the fog that had permeated the room was slowly flushed away by a series of high-powered fans along the wall of the Gym. The entire facility was similar to the one in Violet; the building was a wooden structure in the style of traditional architecture where the base extended a floor below ground-level. A creaky boardwalk leading to the Gym platform composed the upper level, with a net hanging below to catch fallers.

Ciel shook Morty's hand in the middle of the arena. The bored-looking man passed him the Fog Badge and a pile of notes, which Ciel promptly arranged in his badge case and wallet, respectively.

"Alright, kid. Get out of here. I'm heading to my office to pass out before the League scolds me at a check-in meeting. Later." Morty slowly crossed the remaining boardwalk to a backroom at the far end of the Gym. Ciel and Raven took their own leaves and crossed back into the land of the living.

Ciel drunk in a world of amber. It was July, yet every tree in the city wore their autumn colors; he saw a paradise of a transient feeling, but he was told it never faded. The evening sky matched the average hue of the trees, blurring the horizon.

Like Violet, much of the city's architecture was traditional. As he walked through the streets towards the Pokémon Center, he admired the various tiled buildings. A tower to the north rose above the rest, hiding the falling sun.

"You did great in there, Raven. Not even a scratch on you, right?" he asked his partner. "You're getting stronger than we both know."

She raised her head and trotted proudly along the worn cobblestone path. A real warrior, she was, ready at a moment's notice to face the next challenge. When he felt her own movements in his body, he knew a connected existed between the two that didn't exist prior. Ciel knew it was the result of their travel; the Gym Challenge is a trial by fire, forging bonds with each step.

The same could be said for his other Pokémon as well. He released his other three Poké Balls and summoned his Quilava, Pidgeotto, and Rhyhorn. They quickly fell into their usual traveling spots-Arden still fit on Raven's back, while Clovis took to perching himself on some of Hector's protruding spines. Though the plating had begun to grow back since the Showdown, Clovis was taking care not to dig into Hector's raw flesh. If only the bird was that considerate about Ciel's cranium.

The choice. He'd been awake thinking about it every night since the incident at the National Park. It was a simple decision; he could make it with a few words and a wave. However, he didn't know if he had the fortitude to carry it through. It would set him back to where he began. His journey would be far more dangerous. It scared him to make the choice.

A shadow engulfed Ciel's entire body. He turned to his right and craned his head towards the sky. It was the tower he spied at a distance, a monolithic pagoda, of which Ciel counted nine roof layers. Standing at the base was a gate with faded words etched upon its wood surface in Johtoan script. "Barrier Station," it read. "No passage to the unworthy" was inscribed below it. Ciel wanted to climb to its spire and stare out over the world, but his doubts told him he wasn't worthy.

His wrist rang as he began walking again. He popped open his Poké GEAR and a call from his mother appeared on the top screen. His face lit up, washing away his internal queries, and he answered without hesitation. "Hey, Mom!"

" _Hey there, honey! How've you been?"_ Her face appeared on the screen, bright and cheerful. Evening clouds moved past her told him that she was walking home from work at the Gym.

"Like a Psyduck on cloud nine," he said. He retrieved the Fog Badge and flashed it in front of the camera. "Raven and I just beat Morty. See?"

" _I'm amazed! He's usually pretty tricky with disappearing, possession, status moves, that kind of thing. I had to battle each of the other Gym Leaders leading up to my appointment. He wasn't fun, to say the least."_

Possession? A chill ran up Ciel's spine. He was glad for Morty's dragging attitude if it meant he hadn't the energy to try to _possess_ some of his Pokémon. "Well, Raven's type advantage really helped, but I'm banking on our team synergy as being the decisive factor."

" _A bit of positivity is always good, kiddo. Just don't let it go to your head, alright? Type matchups aren't the be-all-end-all of Pokémon battling, so you can't rely on them forever. After all, Gym Leaders all specialize in types but still regularly outmaneuver opponents, even at a technical disadvantage."_

"I won't get big-headed, Mom. Don't worry. The only one here with a bit of an ego is Raven." He kept focused on the screen but heard an indignant snarl to his right.

A ring caught his attention and another call popped up on screen. He wasn't expecting anyone else to call, and he didn't recognize the number.

" _What's the matter, honey?"_ his mother asked.

"I'm getting another call. Could I call you back later?"

"Of course. I don't want to keep you from whatever you're doing, just checking to make sure you're still alive. Go be the person you want to be." She smiled. "I love you, Ciel."

"I love you, Mom," he said, before hanging up the phone in favor of the incoming call. He didn't have a name attached to the number in his contacts, so he had no choice but to answer to find out. He hoped it wasn't a telemarketer.

" _Hallå!"_ chirped a girl's voice. Her face appeared on the screen after a slight delay. _"Are you ready for our rematch yet?"_

"Kris?" Ciel's eyes went wide. He had completely forgotten she added her phone number after their tournament battle because the whole second day blurred together. Nor had he ever expected her to call him, for that matter. He thought it was just a pleasantry.

" _Hälsningar från Sinnohregionen!"_ she said in an unfamiliar language.

"What does that mean?" Ciel asked.

" _It means hello from Sinnoh, silly. It's the place where even in the middle of summer it's still a chilly mess. I'm all bundled up and everything."_

He was starting to sweat. He had no idea how to talk to this girl, especially since all of their previous interactions boiled down to him embarrassing himself or Gold doing it for him. "Why did you call me?" he asked.

" _Like I just said, I want to know if you're ready for our rematch yet. I'm fired up to battle you again."_

"I can't say I am," Ciel managed with a soft laugh. Plus, I'm like 3,500, maybe 4,000 kilometers away from you. Sorry."

" _That's too bad. Our battle was really fun, even if I totally kicked your butt."_

"Gee, thanks for the compliment. Is there anything else you needed?" asked Ciel.

" _Nah, that was it. See you around!"_

She abruptly hung up, leaving him awkward and shocked in the middle of a fork in the road. He and Brent had agreed to meet at the Kimono Dancer Theater later that day, giving him time to challenge the Gym while he and Zuki grabbed a few things. He wasn't sure what their shopping spree had to do with confronting her mother, but he wasn't going to question the girl's decisions.

None of the roads in Ecruteak had road signs—Ciel couldn't fathom how old the settlement was if that was the case. This left him to navigate the streets using only an undetailed city map on his Poké GEAR and Raven's sensory guidance. She acted like she'd seen the theater on a previous stroll through the city, but since Ciel couldn't remember passing it himself, he assumed she was just leading him on.

He stopped someone in the street to ask for direction. "Hey, can you tell me where the dance theater is?"

They responded in Johtoan, which caught him off guard. He hadn't actually spoken his native language in quite a while, so he switched back and re-asked his question.

"You're looking for the theater?" the passerby questioned, now in Unovan with a heavy accent.

Ciel shook his head and switched languages again, fumbling and substituting some words. He was never able to go back and forth very easily and could feel gears in his own head grinding. "Yes, _gekijō-_ err, the theater, where is that?"

The stranger he asked pointed distantly in another direction and began speaking in Johtoan again. Ciel sighed. He thanked the person in both languages and excused himself. He had a headache.

He followed his Absol around a few corners, through some crowded and nonsensical street crossings, past a long line of vendors selling street food in open air, towards some unknown destination. As he walked opposite the descending sun, the evening darkened.

They eventually stumbled upon a worn-down structure with an azure set of roofs. He wasn't even sure if he was in the right place, but a soft strum of an acoustic stringed instrument told Ciel they were in the right place. He and his Pokémon waited before the massive wooden doors to the theater.

"Ciel!" Brent called. He came trotting over across the street, with Zuki, still in full kimono, trailing behind him with a large shopping bag.

"What was it you were picking up?" he asked. "You guys took longer than my Gym Battle."

"Just a few things to make a point. And enough to last me a while if this goes according to plan," she said.

Brent spoke up "And what's your plan?"

"I don't have one. Open the door, I'm starting to get stuffy." She tugged at the collar of her kimono.

Hadn't she said before that the outfit was supposed to provide good airflow? Ciel shrugged and slowly pushed open the doors to the theater. He, his Pokémon, and his friends followed him inside.

The interior space of the Ecruteak Kimono Dance Theater was like another world—just like the Gym, it seemed to exist in a different reality from the city outside. Aside from a few lanterns to illuminate the stage, much of the building was shrouded in darkness. The contours of the walls disappeared into blackness as his eyes trailed upwards towards the roof. The building contained a flat floor laden with cushions where the audience sat in front of a raised stage. Nearly every available space in the theater was full, yet there was no noise, as every onlooker sat in respectful silence to the performance on stage.

Ciel himself kneeled on the floor to witness the performance. Four young girls, clad Zuki's own red and green, trailed in dance behind a leading figure wearing a refined black kimono. The younger dancers held similar appearance to his friend, but their accessories shined various colors—red, yellow, blue, and white. The older woman leading them had sharp, aged face, devoid of wrinkles but evident in experience, and wore an elaborate wig adorned with black accessories.

Their movements were mesmerizing. Neither Ciel nor his Pokémon could avert their gaze. The girls trailed their arms in stiff yet gently curving motions around themselves, shuffling across the floor with grace. In alternation, they fell to their knees and rose again, sometimes taking each other's hands in their own, and gracefully spinning, rotating, gyrating in hypnotic patterns across the stage. However, it was all happening slowly. There wasn't energy, yet there was-each movement appeared like the girls moved in slow-motion, yet they radiated a narrative life. All of this was accompanied by the soft strum of an acoustic guitar, or something similar, though Ciel couldn't tell from where.

Zuki took her step forward. She crossed the floor and stepped up on stage in her own kimono, standing opposite the older woman in black, her back to the crowd. The eyes of the audience landed and hovered on the intruder. She too began to dance.

Her improvised movements fell in effortlessly. She too twirled and twisted like a great wave rolling over open ocean, powerful yet serene. She married her movements to the older woman, who then kneeled and brought her hands to her face in a sorrowful motion. The remaining Kimono Girls stood behind the leader, crossing their arms across their chest, then extending and locking hands with the others, before slowly shuffling in a full circle.

This is what she meant by confronting her mother. Ciel should have known that a girl raised for dance would communicate most effective through dance. It was like they were conversing in a secret language, unknown to anyone but themselves.

Zuki then turned to face the crowd and brought her arms up to behold a nonexistent sky. Her entire kimono fell away to the floor.

Beneath the bulky robe was a complete outfit. Consisting of an achromatic skirt and blouse, topped by a golden, flower-patterned light jacket, the new clothing immediately made her the focal point of the dance. Ciel couldn't believe how suddenly the incongruous modernity of her costume change drew his eye, and now he'd completely forgotten the remainder of the Kimono Girls.

Zuki continued to dance her routine and made large strides around the other dancers. Her movements became more vigorous, yet retained the same grace, as she explored the stage outside the small world the circle of girls was confined to. The older woman returned to her own feet and fell behind Zuki as she moved. The woman offered her hands, but Zuki's movements now were too fast for them to meet.

Brent at his side was in silent attention. Sweat beaded down his head. She'd probably shared with him her intention in this performance, so he was banking on it succeeding. Ciel needed to believe it would succeed as well.

Zuki ended up in the middle of the ring and the leading woman joined the circle. The Kimono Girls released their shared grips and twirled in place before falling to the floor. On their knees, they bent forward, placing their foreheads on the wooden stage floor. The girl in the heart of the circle made one last revolution and herself met the earth. The six figures on stage were motionless.

Around them, the audience clapped. Ciel and Brent stared in wonder before joining in, the latter shouting, "that was amazing, Zuki!"

Everyone else in the theater funneled through the front door. The Kimono Girls' performances must have been completely over for the day since it was so late. Eventually, only the two Trainers were left alongside the six dancers on stage. Ciel stepped up on stage to meet them but felt sick doing so as a common passerby. Was he committing a faux pas by encroaching on their shrine?

Zuki sat opposite the line of kimono girls, the black-clad woman in the center of the row. Neither spoke for a while.

"Your movements are sloppy. It's clear you haven't been practicing," said the woman in Johtoan. It was almost unrecognizable—an older dialect.

Zuki said nothing and stared at the floor. Ciel knew wanted to back away and run. He also knew she wouldn't.

"Disrespectful fool," the woman spat. Her voice pierced his own pride like an arrow even though Ciel wasn't on the receiving end. "After all I gave you, you have the gall to run from your own destiny and then come crawling back just to throw it in my face?"

"It's not-" Zuki began but was torn down by a glare. It was the language. Using Unovan common speak must have been a grave insult in a sacred house. "It's not about what you gave me, Mother," she repeated in the traditional language. "It's about what you didn't give me."

"And what wouldn't that be?" the woman asserted, raising her arms to the theater around her. "I gave you life, I gave you a fine home, I gave you purpose through dance, I gave you everything you needed. The Dento clan has provided for its own for centuries, and you respond to that by running and sending some of your best retainers back in bandages?"

Ciel stared behind them, where multiple suited men had blocked the door. One wore an arm cast, and another had large bruised cheek. More were liked up, unarmed, by their sides. Raven positioned herself between him and the men, as it was clear they were ready for a scuffle.

Zuki stood up. Her casual attire rebelled against her mother robed in the ancient past. "You haven't given me anything _but_ your world! I love you, Mother, but I haven't even begun to discover my own world because you haven't let me!"

"Silence!" she shouted. "Your world is my world just as my world was my mothers and hers her mother's before. The Dento clan exists and thrives because of that world. You need nothing else."

"But I _want_ something else, Mother!" Despite her objection, it was clear that Zuki was beginning to break. Ciel could see her legs shaking underneath herself. Brent was ready to rush forward to say something.

"What you want doesn't carry the traditions you are sworn to uphold. That is final. Your place is here, with your sisters."

"The sisters you stole from their own families and subjected to the same control?!" the Kimono Girl blurted out.

Silence fell over the theater. Scanning the faces of the four other girls, Ciel could see semblance of truth in her words. They weren't biological sisters—their facial structures made that clear on closer inspection, even obscured by make-up.

"Watch your tongue, girl," Zuki's mother spat. "Your sisters' pledges of loyalty have obviously proven to be more sincere than your own. They're better daughters than my own flesh and blood."

Zuki's mother slowly stood and planted herself firmly in front of her daughter. The movement was as graceful as the slap that followed. Zuki's neck snapped to the right, leaving her frozen.

"It's clear you need to be disciplined. I'm not letting you leave this theater until I decide you've earned my forgiveness. You will eat, sleep, and dance. That is all you will do until I say otherwise."

Ciel and Brent forced each other in front of Zuki and planted themselves between mother and daughter. Brent calmed Zuki, who had fallen back to one knee, while Ciel stood defensively before the older woman.

"And who would these two commoners be?" the woman asked while reading Ciel. A series of scoffs accompanied her eye movements up and down. "Simple street trash, I assume. Clearly your choice of company has deteriorated since you left. Men, please escort these _gentlemen_ outside."

"You'd better back off, lady," said Ciel. He spoke in Unovan in protest, earning another piercing glare from the elder Kimono Girl. "She isn't bound to you, or to this theater, or to anyone."

"Yeah!" Brent shouted. "You're worse of a parent than not having one at all. If you think we're leaving this place without her, you're wrong."

The matriarch simply stepped back and waited as the goons approached them from behind. Raven, Arden, Clovis, and Hector all formed a barrier before them, each preparing an attack. Arden's ignition cast alight the theater and Clovis's wing beats stirred the stagnant air. The men continued to advance. Brent clutched Poké Balls of his own. Everyone was ready for a brawl.

" _All of you, stop it!"_ Zuki commanded. The bellow of her voice caused every figure in the theater to halt. Once again, she took center stage, and stepped past her two friends to face her mother. The goons backed away. "I'm tired of others needing to stand up for me. I'm going to say what I have to, and I'm going to make you accept it."

She cut off her mother as she was about to speak. "You have no control over me anymore. I'm an adult with her own life, her own journey, and her own friends," she said, casting her arms out to Ciel and Brent. "I won't ever give up dancing and I'll continue to maintain the Legend of the Tower because they are my heritage. But I'll do it on my own terms and travel the world to learn more than I ever could cooped up in this theater. I love you, mother, but if your version of love prevents me from truly living, then I don't want to be a part of your world."

Her silent audience throughout the speech told nothing. The matriarch's face didn't change—she looked as resolute as a statue. She spoke with acid on her tongue. Yet, underneath, Ciel almost sensed a plea. "Why did you come back? If you believed your life wasn't here with your sisters and I, why return and involve yourself again?"

"Because," Zuki said, "I needed to prove I didn't run away out of fear. I ran away because I _can_ stand against you and choose my own path. If I feared your answer, you would have never heard from me again."

"Hmm." The older woman seemed to have realized something. "I don't remember you being so bold, stupid girl. Very well. Leave."

"You mean—" Zuki gasped.

"You made your choice. This is no longer your family, so you are no longer welcome here. Take your hooligan friends and join a world of commoners who trample ancient culture." The woman walked away towards a dark back curtain of the theater. The remainder of the Kimono Girls promptly stood to follow, each casting longing glances back at the disowned girl. Their mother didn't spare one of her own.

A single tear ran down Zuki's cheek. However, she wasn't sobbing. Instead, she wiped it on her sleeve and took it in stride. Brent took her hand by her side as she broadcast to the retreating ensemble. All of them disappeared behind the curtain. "Naoko, Sayo, Kuni, Miki. I'm sorry, and I love you."

There was no answer. Once the Kimono Girls disappeared, the theater was silent.

"My traditions with me, mother," Zuki said. "The Legend of the Tower and the dance of the Kimono Girls are my duty to uphold, so I'll keep them alive in my own way."

She turned to Ciel and Brent and nodded. It was time to go. Ciel recalled all of his Pokémon except his partner and they left the antique building—the injured guards parted to let them pass and slammed the doors closed behind them.

A cool night greeted them. Aside from a gentle wind, the city was silent as the theater. The city was already asleep and the three of them were ready to join it. They collectively began moving away towards the Pokémon Center without a shared word.

Ciel didn't know how much time had passed before someone finally spoke up. It was Brent. "What do we do know?" he asked, dumbfounded.

Zuki laughed. Her and Brent's hands were still intertwined. "I'm not even sure. For the first time in my life I get to choose my own way, yet I have no idea. I think sleeping is a good first pick."

She stumbled on her left side, causing Ciel to grab her other arm to stabilize her. Her legs were going to give out soon, but that was okay. What she'd been through must have been emotionally exhausting; Ciel's encounter with his father wasn't much better.

They reached the Pokémon Center quickly. The red and white building was faded in the night, but the windows shined a homey glow. Ciel stepped back and allowed the two inside, but Brent noticed an intent behind his display and told Zuki to sit down and wait for him for a few moments. She also seemed to understand the weight behind the movement and pulled Ciel into a hug.

"Thank you for protecting me. And for being a caring friend," she said. Then, she disappeared inside the Pokémon Center. Ciel and Brent stood alone in the night.

"You seem like you have something to say. I hope you didn't forget something at the theater, because I'm not ready to get tangled up there again," joked Brent.

"I do have something to say, but…" Ciel paused. He swallowed. "Would you mind meeting me at the tower later at the north side of town? I feel like it'd mean more if we went there."

"It's called the Bell Tower. Zuki told me that it's a shrine to celebrate change and passing where a powerful guardian left the world many years ago. Some go there to pray for its safe passage in the new world, but others pray for its return."

Change. Passing. It's like Brent was reading his mind. Ciel said, "I'll see you in about an hour, okay?"

"I can tell this is important to you. You didn't even need to ask." The older Trainer grinned.

* * *

Ciel sat underneath the arch called Barrier Station. He closed his eyes and crossed his legs. He wasn't very religious, but he thought that maybe praying could prepare him for what he needed to say. It was part of his Johtoan ancestry, after all.

He closed his eyes and shut himself out from the world. It wasn't much of a prayer. He wished for good fortune and safe passage for himself, his friends, and his Pokémon—it was a simple order, but it was all he needed. The feeling of fur rubbing against his arm brought him back to the physical world.

His Absol brushed against him a few times before curling up at his side. He scratched her head and ran a fingernail along her sickle. "Thanks for coming with me, Raven. It's been wonderful having you as a partner."

She purred. It was a rare reaction from her, something reserved for when she was truly comfortable with someone. Ciel was glad to be that person, even if they did have a rocky start after leaving New Bark.

When Brent arrived at the gate, the man offered him a hand. He grabbed it and stood up, pulling himself face to face with his friend. They stared at each other for a few moments before the older Trainer smiled and withdrew a folded piece of paper out of his pocket. Opening it revealed a line of calligraphy.

"This is from Zuki. I told her we were going to the tower, so she wrote this out to allow us access and signed the Dento House seal. It's probably only good for a short while before the guards get word of what happened earlier." Brent walked up to the gate and handed a gatekeeper the slip.

The man scanned it and nodded. "As representatives of the Dento House, you are worthy of entering the Bell Tower. In respect for the ancient guardians and to guard my position, I shall not accompany you. When you return, the tower should be as untouched as when you entered."

"Thank you, sir," Ciel said. The two stepped through the gate.

The path leading to the tower was blanketed in warm-colored leaves bright enough to be visible without daylight. Their feet crunched material beneath them, and as they walked away from the city, the silence deepened. Their footfalls became the only audible sounds in the area.

They stepped through the open door of the tower. Ciel craned his neck again to behold the majesty of the structure's interior; lit by sparse torches, it was a veritable maze of beams, ladders, and planks. No clear path led them upward, but Brent wasted no time and began climbing a ladder to reach the top. Ciel set Raven's Poké Ball to active to allow for easy passage to the top, but she hopped upwards onto a wooden outcropping to leap to a higher level. He shrugged and followed.

They climbed. They climbed some more. Every ladder they climbed led to a confusing labyrinth of lumber. Each touch of the wood inside the tower resonated through his body. The tower had an aura. The smell of raw wood invaded Ciel's nostrils, but he wiped his nose on his sleeve and pushed on. Their task after climbing to a higher level was finding the next ladder, or sometimes stairs or even a rope, that led higher. Ciel reasoned that the architecture was meant to prevent evil spirits from reaching the top and disturbing the guardians the tower venerated. Similar legends were attached to other Johtoan landmarks.

A single wooden pillar extended the entire height of the tower. Other supports branched from it to the far ends of each level and a small gap existed between the pillar and the flooring. Raven took to hopping and pulling herself up to each support around the central pillar, disappearing through the center of each roof to the next floor above.

"Hey, Brent, you're a Trainer because you want to be a hero, right?" Ciel asked as he climbed a ladder behind the man. He kept his head forward, focusing on the bars, trying not to fall.

"Yeah," he said. He was panting from the continuous climbing. "I want myself and the Pokémon to be the strongest we can be, because that means we can save the most people. The better we get, the more we can do if we see someone in trouble."

Brent sat to rest for a few moments when he stepped from the ladder to the next level. He grabbed Ciel's hand in his own to pull him up. Their reprieve was short before they continued to climb.

"I want to be a Pokémon Trainer because I want to protect people. Isn't that the same thing?" Ciel asked.

"Do you think it's the same thing?" he asked in return.

"I… I don't know," Ciel muttered. "I think I'm basing myself too much on you, and I'm not sure what that goal really means."

"Well, that's okay, man. Maybe you just need to do some soul-searching sometime to find out how to ascribe yourself to it. Even if you don't change what you're building towards, what it means to you can change entirely. I want to be a hero for my mother, to save her, but now that I know I can do more, it's more about being able to help anyone than one specific person. One person at a time, and every person counts."

They pulled themselves up to another level and a slightly glow permeated the flooring. They were nearing the top. The floor of the penultimate level barely covered the one below, surrounding only the central pillar and leading to another ladder. Raven begrudgingly accepted being withdrawn to her capsule after seeing no feasible paths to the roof. Ciel and Brent ascended the final climb to the peak. Starry blackness stared them back.

"It's a beautiful night. The moon came out," Ciel said. The clouds had parted while they ascended, blanketing the roof in moonlight. Ciel walked up to the edge of the tower and rested his forearms on the fencing. He peered over the city, and over Johto beyond.

Brent examined four stone statues of a large bird Pokémon on the corners of the roof. They radiated a magnificence under the light of the moon, but the detail of each carving wasn't visible without proper sunlight. "I'm glad we came up here. What is it you wanted to say?"

"I think… that I want to go my own way for a while," Ciel said.

"Go your own way?"

"Not like when I went ahead to Azalea Town while you were visiting your grandma. I mean, for real this time. The Gym Challenge splits from this city, and I think it'd be best if I went the opposite way as you. I'll go towards Olivine, and you towards Mahogany. If you're okay with that, of course," Ciel explained to his friend. He didn't make eye contact as Brent joined him at the railing.

"I kind of figured. If you wanted to do some soul-searching on your own terms, this would be the best place to part ways."

"I'm going to find out what my own purpose means to me. You've already figured yours out," Ciel said as he finally turned to look at him. "I've never been so sure, and I want to be able to be the same kind of person you are. I want to be able to move faster than my mind can when someone needs protecting. I don't know how long that will take."

Brent tapped his fingers on the railing. It wasn't out of impatience, but rather in thinking. Ciel could see a million things about to come out of his mouth, but he settled on one.

"I suppose you wanted this tower to mean something on this journey of ours?"

Ciel nodded. "Four months. Once four months have passed, and we've both completed the Gym Challenge, I want us both to come back here, stand atop this tower, and battle. We'll prove how far we've come."

"That's right," Brent realized. "We've never had a proper battle, have we? My Furret versus your Absol. That'll be exciting." His eyes cast down to Ciel's partner, who stood resolutely by his side. She was willing to follow Ciel's decision into a new unknown, just like when their journey began.

Brent stepped back from the fence. He was leaving already, but he flashed his old-model Poké GEAR. "If this is the last I see of you for a while, just know that you can call me anytime."

"Right. Hopefully, I won't need you until then," Ciel said.

Brent pulled him into a hug suddenly. They shared no words, but Ciel returned the embrace. They held for a while before letting go.

Brent walked away and stopped in front of the ladder, ready to descend the tower. However, he lingered for a few moments. He called back. "Ciel, remember when we all visited the Ruins of Alph and that hole opened up in the shrine chamber? You were the one to grab Ethan, err, Gold, and pull him out. You fell in and passed out. No matter how long you have to go, just remember that you might be further along than you think. If you know that, you can keep going."

Ciel grinned forward. "Say goodbye to Zuki for me, okay? I know she'll want to travel with you. Take care of each other."

Ciel didn't hear him drop down the ladder, but after minutes passed with no new sounds, he knew he was alone. Well, he wasn't ever truly alone. Ciel released all his Pokémon onto the tower. His Pidgeotto took position on the railing, while the rest of his Pokémon stood to his sides.

Raven, Arden, Clovis, Hector. He even clicked the button on his newest capture and released his Scyther. The Bug-type Pokémon wasn't well-acquainted with any of them, but he understood the mood of the occasion. Under the moonlight and the starlight, the team peered at the region beyond. It was just them from then on, meaning their adventure had begun anew. Just like when he started, it was him and his Pokémon. Here they stood, hundreds of kilometers from New Bark, where his journey formally began.

Ciel couldn't bring himself to leave. He wasn't ready to go just yet. His Pokémon didn't complain, so they remained in reflection atop the tower. Something started, or something finished. Ciel couldn't tell.

Beginning, end.

End, beginning.

It didn't matter. All that mattered was that they would go on.

* * *

 **Chapter 17 marks the end of Anew's first major story arc. In my notes, the previous arc was vaguely codenamed "Adventure" due to my lack of true plot separation between the planned three in the story. The purpose of the first arc was to cultivate character motivations and goals to lead up to truer adversity in the story's latter half, but I ended up going much further in depth with character challenges and the setups for later problems than I had planned.**

 **Because this is a concrete stopping point, I saw fit to reflect on the story as a whole and do some major editing. At this stage, every chapter up to Chapter 5 has received an additional round of comprehensive editing; I was hoping to have every chapter done, but I couldn't beat my posting deadline for 17, and I'm content with filling in the rest over the coming few days. Mostly, the changes are logical errors (such as some gendered pronouns, an inconsistent reference to Silver's height, various capitalization changes, changing Ciel's drink in Chapter 10 to apricorn juice, etc.) and a few minor narrative additions, but none that would be noticeable without the original draft visible. Reread if you would like, but the narrative path doesn't change. I have encountered a problem with this, as my drafts for this story are saved in multiple places and I don't always update all of them simultaneously. I hope I haven't reverted any changes by editing on an older-version draft.**

 **This next section is going to be lengthy developmental talk for the first 17 chapters, kind of like a postmortem. If you're not into that thing, just skip to the end.**

 **I'm satisfied with the way the first arc worked out. I managed to provide a good basis for characters and gave myself a lot to work with more concrete conflict in the back half of the story. I'm also fond of my own battle writing, as I've been genuinely impressed in retrospect when reading over some of the more creative battles, such as Ciel's second battle with Falkner. I found that in particularly to be enjoyable fast-paced and easy to visualize spatially, which is one of my primary concerns when I write action.**

 **My favorite two chapters of the first arc are Chapter 9 and Chapter 10. As I alluded when talking about Avengers: Endgame last chapter, I believe that a sense of "finality" defines the best parts of any story. The conclusion to Silver's opening character arc and the transition into the next part of his, Gold, and Crystal's story was done well, in my opinion, and it was the most engaging part of this story this far. My least favorite chapter was Chapter 15. I already explained some of the problems associated with that in the author's note for that chapter, so read that if you're curious.**

 **Here's some developmental trivia:**

 **\- Chapter 9 was originally called "Woods of Mystery" (referencing the titular area from The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask) and would have followed Ciel trekking through Ilex Forest. He was intended to be attacked by Sird in this chapter, but I cut it for it being somewhat irrelevant and instead moved his encounter with Sird to later, which I think worked out nicely.**

 **\- Ciel was originally going to capture a Mareep, named "Leonard" in my notes, after leaving Violet. This was meant to feed into an upcoming plot point, but because I both genuinely forgot and found no effective time for him to capture said Pokémon, Leonard was scrapped. What he was supposed to be involved in still occurs forthcoming, but in a different way.**

 **\- I had planned to use the manga names for Ethan and Lyra since the beginning of the story. I headcanon that every one of the primary games' protagonists incorporates their title names in some way within this universe, more as a way to synthesize the various media than for any thematic purpose.**

 **\- The Goldenrod Showdown. Oh boy. This was originally an afterthought in my notes for Chapters 13 and 14, but I expanded it on the justification of "why not?" I had very little else planned for Goldenrod, but its inclusion also caused me to scrap some "nostalgic" scenes with Ciel and his mother due to plot reasons. It was mentally exhausting to say the least.**

 **\- None of the Rocket scenes were in my notes. All their interactions were improvised based on character descriptions (as I expanded character backstories for each of the executives) and for need of external conflict as it arised. I actually have planned scenes for the second half, however.**

 **\- Speaking of the Rockets, within this story they are only ever referred to as "The Rocket Syndicate" or "The Rockets". I did this because I wanted to more closely associate them with traditional mafia and because I wanted to avoid repeating the "Team X" template that the villainous organizations have across the game series.**

 **\- Emiko and Mirei, Lyra's parents, are based on the canonical parents for Lyra as the player in HGSS and Crystal in Pokémon Adventures, respectively. Mirei takes her name directly from Adventures (though I think it was revealed in extra material, not in the manga itself), and Emiko is a beta name for the player's mother from the Japanese version of Diamond and Pearl. Ethan only has a single parent, who has currently gone unmentioned, based on the NPC parent for the non-player protagonist from HGSS.**

 **\- For anyone wondering about the timeline, this story takes place in calendar year 2010, beginning in March. This isn't relevant to any developments at all, just know that Pokémon Platinum** **and Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver take place in the years of their North American release dates with a minor overlap to conform to the proposed timeline revealed in a Tweet by Toshinobu Matsumiya.**

 **\- The symbol I use for Pokédollars is the Russian Ruble. It was the closest approximation, as no unicode version of the actual Pokédollar exists.**

 **\- For writing purposes, and to guide my moodsetting, I listen to a lot of anison songs during production. If I were to give the first arc an opening and ending theme, the opening theme would be "Far Away" by Asian Kung-Fu Generation and the ending theme would be "Memories" by Maki Otsuki.**

 **Now for some negative criticisms, from me, at me.**

 **Almost all of this story's problems originate from me not having a chapter buffer on release. I've been writing this as purely serialized as possible, and almost every issue can be traced back to the lack of foresight. There are some minor inconsistencies, repeated references, and a number of small details that otherwise would give this story a tight sense of continuity. Particularly, a big problem was Ciel's character arc, which, while coherent, isn't as tight as I would have liked due to my original idea conflicting with my development style. I wanted his first character arc to be able him discovering himself and a motivation for being a Trainer and completing the Gym Challenge (which he does in Chapter 7), but I don't usually write detailed notes for character development. I had a start-point, endpoint, and a few milestones, and because I didn't have a few chapters to see ahead, Ciel doesn't feel as goal-oriented from the start as he should. I wanted the interest in his developments to be in the discovery of his own motivation, but I might have missed the mark—I've received conflicting opinions, so it's hard to be sure. Some problems might have been alleviated with my recent edits.**

 **To let you in on behind-the-scenes, you'll notice that I credit Titan127 on each chapter of the story. We both conceptualized and drafted this series over a long period, and each of us has a "claim" of sorts to certain elements. Originally, Titan127 was supposed to be the primary author for this story while I began work on a later one, which I had been writing up until a few weeks before this was published. Due to some circumstances, he was relegated to being an editor and I took over responsibility of this story. This led me to scrap some of his established work due to its age and some dissonance in our writing styles. I rushed this to publish without a buffer because of how long it had been in the oven. My wish to see active development led to the lack of buffer and several of the problems, so I take full credit for the mistakes caused.**

 **I'm debating whether to create a buffer for myself before starting the second arc, and while it might make characterization slightly better, it also has a few drawbacks. First, it's inconsistent with my developmental style with the rest of the story, and I really appreciate consistency for single item works. Secondly, it would require a ten to fifteen month posting hiatus to allow me space, and I'm not sure that's fair to any regular viewers. Of course, not doing this implies that I don't care to fix some problems I'm aware of, and I don't want to imply that the quality of this story isn't my top priority. I truly do care to make this the best product I can, however, I'm unsure about the investment required, and might wait until this story finishes to start a buffer for what comes after.**

 **Some other minor gripes I have are Raven's "character arc", a lack of conflict focus for Brent, and maybe some general pacing quirks. Raven as a character has a self-contained story "ending" in Chapter 5 with a resolution I wasn't quite happy with despite rewriting it, and she hasn't gotten focus since due to the shift towards a larger human cast. Brent didn't have a character-specific conflict, though he does have a clearer motivation than Ciel, and this is partly due to him being viewed as a mentor figure by Ciel and his own problems weren't as important for the time being; I'd like to expand upon challenges for him as he and Zuki travel in the next arc. I wanted to portray him as a genuinely and truly good person, but I'm afraid it might even make him uninteresting. Lastly, as I mentioned before at the start of the Goldenrod Showdown, even I don't like my skipping around sometimes. I enjoy travel chapters for the isolated development they allow and I'm a proponent for a clear timeline of events, so the number of timeskips and cut adventures irks me. However, my wish for brevity in storytelling trumps my wandering creative process—you can trust me, I only spent 120,000 words to finish half my first published story.**

 **DEVELOPMENTAL RANT OVER. This story is a joy to write, flaws and all, and it's supposed to be the basis for some future stories to come. I have plenty of time to improve and each word is another step up. I appreciate everyone who's followed the story this far, and if you'd join me for 18 more chapters, I'd love to have you along.**

 **Come back soon for Chapter 18: The Price of Confidence. Let the adventure continue!**


	18. The Price of Confidence

**This story is co-developed and edited by Titan127.**

 **Disclaimer: Pokémon is a registered property of Nintendo, the Pokémon Company, and GameFreak. This work respectfully uses the world and characters of the Pokémon series, with no intent of harm on the original creators. Please support the official releases of the Pokémon franchise.**

 **Chapter 18: The Price of Confidence (3,306 words)**

* * *

"Please…" his voice shook. "Please be okay…"

Arden's inert body lied curled in his arms. A rock pierced through his body—the spear-like object punctured his Quilava's stomach and exited through his back. Ciel ran faster, and faster, and faster, and faster, and faster, each step letting a pool of blood splash to the ground.

He was so close to the Pokémon Center. Any lost second was a second of Arden's life leaving his body. Rain drowned the world around him. Ciel's only solace was that he couldn't smell the iron.

Iron.

The clash of metal. The rupture of earth. It was a battle he never could have won—he was too blind to see that, and now he couldn't escape the consequences.

He tripped. A sharp pain ran through his back as he slammed on the ground. He slid. As Ciel returned to his feet, they slipped through the mud; he almost lost his balance a second time, but he powered through the melting ground. Arden's heartbeat was waning.

Ciel choked on his own tears. "How— how could I let this happen?"

* * *

 **ONE DAY PRIOR**

* * *

Ciel scrawled in his notebook. His signal to Arden caused the Quilava to fire on all cylinders, leading to a massive heatwave as the flames burned higher and higher. The Pokémon's leg muscles were buckling because his entire body flexed with the motion.

Scattered embers danced across the rooftop where they practiced. While the Pokémon stood in the center, his Trainer leaned against the roof's elevated border. The entire building, like every other structure in the town, was coated in beautiful white paint, which is why it surprised Ciel that the owner of the shop lent them the roof to practice. He could already see dark scores where the flames touched the surface, and though he tried to scrub some discoloration away with a rag from his duffel, Ciel figured they had already done too much damage to bother.

"Are you ready?" shouted Ciel over the roar of the flames. His Pokémon returned an affirmative growl, so Ciel gave the second signal.

Arden opened his mouth, and like a water valve spun open, a pure stream of flame erupted. It arced across roofs in the distance of the small town, though thankfully it dissipated before reaching the ground below. Ciel followed the beam across town and watched curious townsfolk stare up at the sudden column of light and heat. When it ceased, he apologized for the disturbance by shouting over the roof.

He returned to Arden at the center, who had fallen to his stomach. He asked, "Are you okay, bud?"

Arden managed a squeak but nothing more. Ciel smiled and scratched the Pokémon's head. "You shouldn't exert yourself anymore today. It's a long way from you having the reserves to use Flamethrower, but it's progress that you can hold it even for a little while."

Ciel returned to the edge of the arena, dug through his bag, and located some high-class insect meat. He'd splurged and bought more of that expensive Durant mix before he left Ecruteak. Not that Arden had any complaints about his reckless spending. Upon noticing Ciel putting food out, Arden scurried over to the edge of the roof and dug in next to his Trainer.

Ciel leaned back against the roof edge and flipped through his notebook. The past few days of practice for Arden had been conditioning larger output—it was like muscle training, where the only way to improve was to try hard, rest, and do it all over. He tapped his cheek with the pencil between his fingers as he reread his notes. He accidentally poked himself in the eye.

"Did we ever come back to this one?" he asked as he reread a months-old scribble. In between his notes about Smokescreen, one small writing mentioned an occurrence he'd only viewed once before.

 _Arden belched a larger Ember than normal. It exploded when it landed. Must revisit at later time._

Said Pokémon curiously peered over his shoulder as he retrieved a textbook titled _Pokémon Physiology and the Biological Basis of Pokémon Battles._ The thick tome was college-level, difficult to digest, and at least ten years out of date, which is why the library in Ecruteak had offered it for sale at such a low price. The rare burst of power had to have a physiological basis.

He flipped through the table of contents, and unsatisfied with the lack of direction it provided, he settled on scanning the energy expenditure chapter in the book's six-hundreds. Special/physical split, natural recoil, move failure, nothing gave any indication of the thing he saw. Ciel got himself lost in the hundreds of miscellaneous topics in the final section of the chapter, and as he moved off a page, he immediately flipped back as he registered a few keywords.

"Hyperexertive expulsion," he read aloud to his active Pokémon. "First recorded in 1831, this _defect_ ," he paused, noting that the word had seven footnotes attached to it, "is present is most, if not all known Pokémon species. In very rare instances, a Pokémon's energy pathways will misfire and output at greater than 200% their recorded average. The most supported theory behind this phenomenon explains that hyperexertive expulsion acts to reset buildup in a Pokémon's internal function, equated to a leap year's additional day resetting the fraction of additional time accumulated over four-year intervals. Its relative rarity and failure to be replicated consistently under conditioned environments has led to a lack of study on this phenomenon."

Ciel flipped across the pages when it referred to another section in the battle weaknesses chapter at the end of the paragraph. That passage referenced the agitation of pressure points by attacks, resulting in additional exhaustion to the receiving Pokémon. At the bottom was a note. "Like hyperexertive expulsion, a Pokémon's weak points being pressured during battle tends to result in additional "damage". Colloquially, both occurrences are referred to by experienced Trainers as _critical hits._ "

He looked upward from the book across the rooftops of Whitestone. That was one mystery solved. Ciel scratched out the note, disappointed that it could only be affected by luck, but he found himself enlightened. He'd been nose-deep in books for months, both during his training and on his off-time. He was sure he'd read more by volume than the entirety of high school.

"Well, what do you say we wrap it up for the day?" he asked Arden. The Pokémon responded by cutting power to his flames and wiggling underneath Ciel's right arm to rest his head on the Trainer's thigh. Ciel smiled softly. "You're gonna be my headliner in our upcoming battle in Olivine. The Gym Leader there uses Steel-type Pokémon, and that means you've got a major advantage. You excited?"

His Pokémon perked up and nodded his head up and down. Ciel wasn't sure when he picked up the gesture's meaning, but he was glad for the enthusiasm.

Brent came to his mind. Ciel had found himself wondering what he and Zuki were doing over the week and a half since they separated. Every so often, they came to mind, and he realized that he was almost lonely without the other Trainer with him. He'd stick to his word, though. When he next saw Brent, it would be as a more enlightened Trainer. His friend, maybe even best friend, would see a version of Ciel neither of them knew before.

Ciel peered over the edge of the roof onto the street below, where Raven, Clovis, Hector, and his Scyther were sparring in rotation on the ground. Various passersby veered around them and angrily shouted at the Pokémon for blocking the walkway. Ciel shouted downward, "Are you four good to go? I think we should make more headway towards Olivine instead of staying here for the night. I'm running low on cash for the Pokémon Center's guest rooms."

It took a moment for a response. Raven was busy teacher the newcomer the ropes. Despite being over twice her size, the Scyther eagerly accepted instruction on footwork from the senior Pokémon. He assumed no one had heard and was about to shout for attention again, but Raven soon broke from their session and cast an affirmative growl up at him. She met his eye.

Ciel packed up his stuff and descended through the roof access hatch on the building. He thanked the building's proprietor for the available space—and passed him ₽2000 for a can of white paint—before reuniting with his other team members on the ground. The six of them marched valiantly south out of Whitestone, intent on reaching Olivine as soon as possible.

Arden had recently evolved and had trained to almost be able to use Flamethrower. With him leading their fight against the Gym Leader, there was no way they could lose. After all, he'd beaten Bugsy, Whitney, and Morty all on his first try. Only Falkner had given him trouble all those months ago, but that was because he was still a novice.

The Ciel Fauder of the present would take the Gym Challenge by the horns and wrestle it to the ground. His team was ready. He was ready. Ciel had a ear-length grin on his face we as they left the town into the wilderness.

* * *

The port city of Olivine. They had figuratively _flown_ through Route 39, powered by Ciel's excitement and a lack of trouble with wild Pokémon. The accelerated pace made him all the more delighted as he gazed upon the oceanside megalopolis.

A sprawl of buildings curved around the southern bay. Ciel traced his eyes along multiple man-made canals that sectioned the city by running to the ocean; outlining the coast was a series of ports, where rows of cargo ships sat loaded with goods, with many more containers soaring in movement from cranes. Every building in the city proper was constructed of pure, sleek, modern metal, aside from the lighthouse to his left that cast its view into the ocean. Some dark grey clouds were rolling in. He had heard once before that Olivine had more thunderstorms than any other city in the region.

He stared down his nose at the steep descent from the cliff on which he stood. It was a long way down, but he didn't see an easier access besides returning to the woods and finding a detour.

That left him with one option. He turned to face his five active Pokémon, saluted, and fell backwards.

"Last one to the city sits out the Gym battle!" he shouted as he fell from the cliff.

The wind rushed up to him as he hit the ground running. He drank in the exhilaration even while struggling to keep every foot in front of him and not tumble down the hillside. He could spy their target dead ahead: a monolithic, trapezoidal building with the Pokémon League's sigil layed out on its paneled walls.

Raven bounded ahead of him to the right; Clovis and Scyther took flight and soared past him, Arden carried in the former's talons. The only one unaccounted for was Hector, but Ciel twisted his head at a thundering sound behind him. The living tank barreled towards him. He veered wide to the left to avoid being trampled and felt the earth shake as the Rhyhorn charged past down the hill.

All his Pokémon were waiting for him as he approached the first structures at the city's edge. He hit the brakes hard, barely managing to pull himself to a stop, and leaned over, wheezing. "I— I guess I'm the one that has to sit out, huh?"

His team looked between themselves and their Trainer. He put his hands up, defensively, to reassure them they were still battling that day. None of them had had a proper battle since they left Ecruteak, so he was sure some of his Pokémon were getting restless. Ciel recalled all but Raven to their capsules for ease of transport through the city.

Only a dozen blocks sat between them and the Gym. He could hear clanking and grinding and clicking as he walked and observed cranes, construction equipment, and canal passageways twisting, moving, working. The city itself was alive, like a giant complex machine. Yet, somewhere within it all, he could distantly make out the roar of the ocean. The sensory wonderland reminded him of Cherrygrove, and ultimately his mind cast back to Brent again.

He shook his head. Not that he didn't want to think about his friend, but he wanted to fulfill his promise to himself. He needed to do this by himself, not with a guide and mentor shaping his every step. It was time for him to grow. He'd become the protector he wanted to be, with the mind of his own to do it.

And so, he found himself standing on the Olivine Gym's lawn, Raven by his side. Of the eight Gyms in the region, he had received badges from four. If he could beat one half, he could beat the other. What was there to worry about? He swallowed the tiniest hesitation and stepped forward.

Raven planted herself in front of him. She bared her sickle towards him, punctuating the move with a growl. He stopped in his tracks.

"What's the matter, Raven? Don't tell me you're backing out now."

She growled once again, but she jerked her head towards the building behind her. He followed her movement towards the door and found himself focusing intently on it. His next challenge was right through there. It was so close. Why stop there?

He decided to walk around his partner, but she shifted to plant herself in front again. He went the opposite direction. She blocked his path.

Ciel crossed his arms. "I don't know what your problem is, but if you don't want to be part of the Gym battle, that's fine by me. Steel resists Dark anyway. Err, maybe I'm misremembering, but that's not the point."

With even more confidence, he pushed past his partner and started towards the entrance. However, he couldn't help but cast a glance back at her. She hadn't moved from her spot and stared him down. There was another expression within. It was a plea.

She was telling him not to do it. What did she know, anyway? Arden had grown way stronger in such a short period of time because of his evolution and their constant practice. Ciel bet that he could sweep the Gym Leader's entire team himself. Maybe she was just jealous. After all, she prided herself in being the strongest around. Maybe she couldn't live with being dethroned.

"We'll be out in no time. If you don't want to watch, you don't have to," Ciel said to his partner. "But, you should come inside. I don't want you to get caught in the storm."

The Trainer pushed open the door to the Olivine Gym. The heavy metal slab resisted, but he muscled the entrance open. As he stepped inside, leaving Raven behind, the Gym closed behind him with an ominous slam.

* * *

Ciel choked on his own tears. "How— how could I let this happen?"

A dazzling flash of lightning exploded when it struck a piece of construction scaffolding, showering him in sparks. His eardrums nearly blew out from the thunderous burst. The sheer volume of downpour made it difficult to see, but he could barely make out the neon glow down the street.

No one else was around. It was just Ciel and the dying Pokémon in his arms, trying desperately to reach the Pokémon Center. He held his hands close to Arden's wound to apply pressure. They were stained.

Ciel bashed his shoulder into the door to throw himself inside. Through tears and hiccups, he shouted, "S-someone, please help him! He's going to— going to die!"

He tuned out the murmurs from various pedestrians and Trainers disturbed by his outburst. As quickly as he cried out, Pokémon Center nurses rushed out of swinging doors, loaded Arden up on a stretcher, and whisked him away. He kept his eyes focused on the pitiful body of his friend as it disappeared. Ciel stepped to follow, only for another body to storm past from the outside. A soaking Raven trailed water as she slipped past Center workers into the emergency ward

After seeing his partner, Ciel couldn't bring himself to move. His partner had warned him about this. Her species' inherent trait was a sense for disaster. He had always brushed it off as mere superstition.

A few Trainers crowded around him. A woman asked, "Hey, are you okay?"

He was sobbing hard enough that he couldn't answer. Arden wasn't okay. Arden wasn't okay, so Ciel wasn't okay. He told Brent he could make it on his own, without anyone else to guide him, and he was wrong. He was so wrong.

"Here, let's get you to a couch," a man said as he offered Ciel a hand. He saw his best friend's face overlay the stranger's, and it just made him sick to his stomach.

Ciel found sudden strength to jump to his feet and disappear through the entrance of the Pokémon Center. Back in the dark, flooding world, he ran aimlessly through the empty city streets. He didn't know where he was going. There was nowhere for him _to_ go. He couldn't escape the present. Each footstep scattered a puddle. His entire body was soaked. He was cold, freezing even.

What had he told himself? That he wanted to be a strong Pokémon Trainer to protect people? Among that, he had forgotten the possibility that his own Pokémon would need protecting. He couldn't judge his own limits, nor could he anticipate his own failure.

Somehow, he found himself at the docks. His eyes hadn't left the concrete streets, so he had no idea where he was. He looked up for one moment to see the intricate wirework of moving cranes and cargo containers. Ciel lost himself in a steel jungle.

He didn't know how he boarded the ship. He barely had sense of self as his own mind tore itself apart, so the next time he came back to reality, he found himself curled up in the far corner of a commercial transport's deck. His subconscious wanted him as far as possible from his mistake as he could be, and he got his wish—a deafening horn sounded, blocking out the rain, signaling the ship's departure.

He cried and he cried and he cried. Two of five capsules in his pocket were empty. He couldn't bring himself to look at them.

A brilliant beam of light passed overhead. In the split second that the rotating Glitter Lighthouse illuminated his body, he could see the deep red covering his hands. His eyes, open wide, couldn't move from the sight, even after the stormy darkness swallowed him again.

Hours, maybe days, passed aboard the ship. Ciel couldn't remember sleeping, but he also couldn't remember being awake. The entire craft lurched with the turbulent weather, swaying in the ocean. Ciel kept himself curled up tight. He was clutched to a metal shaft connected to the ship's cabin, but his hands kept slipping from the drenched metal.

A massive wave approached, large enough that he could see it among the storm. Ciel braced himself.

The entire ship trembled under the force of the wave. Ear-piercing metal scraping met his ears as containers shifted aboard the craft, making him curl tighter in on himself and move one hand to an ear to stop the pain. His other hand slipped.

The wave washed over the boat completely. Spraying across the deck, it carried the unsuspecting Trainer over the side barrier, and he screamed as he fell into the ocean. It swallowed him whole.

Ciel Fauder washed away.

* * *

 **Arc 2, here we come! This chapter should allude to a lot of the major format and narrative changes in the latter half of the story. For one, you can see how much more drama focused this chapter was compared to a lot of the more lighthearted adventure fare beforehand. Second, this is the first chapter since Chapter 4 where only Ciel's perspective is used. With Ciel and Brent parting ways at the end of Chapter 17, the second story arc is going to focus alternatively on both individual characters in larger "chunks," as it were. Gold, Silver, and Crystal retain the scattered method from before, though I have at least one chapter planned with full focus on them.**

 **This is also the shortest chapter in the story by far. I originally was going to go past this chapter's published ending, but I didn't want to ruin the cliffhanger. You'll have to wait to find out what happens to Ciel next!**

 **I'm eagerly awaiting the Pokémon Direct tomorrow for more information on our new English wonderland. I pray we don't get a Quilladin situation with the second starter forms. I can still remember the shudders six years later.**

 **Tune back next time for Brent and Zuki's adventures in east Johto in Chapter 19: Cometh the Savior. See you there!**


	19. Cometh the Savior

**This story is co-developed and edited by Titan127.**

 **Disclaimer: Pokémon is a registered property of Nintendo, the Pokémon Company, and GameFreak. This work respectfully uses the world and characters of the Pokémon series, with no intent of harm on the original creators. Please support the official releases of the Pokémon franchise.**

 **Chapter 19: Cometh the Savior (5,901 words)**

* * *

Brent rolled the miniaturized capsule around in his hands like a stress ball. His fingerprints collected on the glossy material, and in it he could see a reflection. A wide grin crossed his face and he felt his arm shake at his side with happiness.

"What's made you so sunny today?" asked Zuki, who was walking behind him.

"Nothing much," he said. "I'm just super excited to train today. Every time I look at my Poké Balls, I get a little giddy thinking about who's inside."

Brent tapped the Poké Ball into its ready state and clamped his hand around the object. He hovered his index finger over the button, but he stopped. When was his Magikarp last active? They were training at a waterfall pond in Ecruteak before the Gym Battle, but they ended up defeating Morty with only Sentret and Eevee at the helm. Agitating the little guy by displacing him from water to land would just be distasteful.

Brent followed the path of a creek and led Zuki to a nearby lake. Along their left rose the rounded peaks of Mount Mortar, which cast a shadow over them through the treeline. The terrain had become rockier the further east they traveled and the path all but disappeared, so they'd been tracking the creek to lead them up Route 42. Mahogany Village was their destination. Ciel was from Mahogany—err, had just moved to Mahogany. And his _parents_ were the Gym Leaders Brent would face off against. That was some lineage to follow.

He figured that Ciel had already made it to Olivine. He couldn't claim to fully understand his friend's reason for splitting up, but if it made him happy and pushed him forward as a trainer, Brent would be waiting in Ecruteak in four months without hesitation. That's what heroes do. They support each other.

The creek suddenly stopped as it emptied into a lake through a small break in the trees, where a small rock island rose in the middle. He held Magikarp's Poké Ball towards the water and popped the capsule open. The materialization beam struck the water and painted it purple where the light scattered. His Magikarp appeared.

"Hey there, buddy!" he exclaimed. The aquatic Pokémon matched his enthusiasm once he gained bearing. Brent pointed behind himself at Zuki. "What we're gonna do today is give her a first-ever Pokémon battle. Think you can go easy?"

The Magikarp playfully splashed around the lake while making "glub" sounds. Brent couldn't think of a more eager affirmation.

The trainer turned back to Zuki, who stood with her legs together and feet inward. She was wearing the same clothes she challenged her mother in, though her loose jacket was slipping off her shoulders. In her hand she held a single Poké Ball, but she kept shuffling it between hands. She almost dropped it as he stood up.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Brent asked. "I don't want to push you past your comfort zone."

She smiled at him before steeling her expression. "That's sweet of you. But, when I said I wanted to do this, I _meant_ it. I've heard about Pokémon battling for so long, but Mother was appalled at the idea of such a 'barbaric' form of exchange."

"Is this teenage rebellion?" said Brent with a mischievous grin.

Zuki held up her Poké Ball and stared into its glossy top. She shrugged. "If it's not, I don't think I'm doing this right."

Brent slapped his hands together and rubbed, feeling the friction heating his palms. He took a deep breath through his nose, closed his eyes, and then brightened up all at once. "It's time we get started, then! Take your positions!"

His Magikarp leaped from the water and flopped in the grass, its bright orange scales contrasting against the earthy tones around them. It was the best battle stance he could muster. Meanwhile, Zuki sighed deeply and released her own Pokémon from the capsule. The materialization beam amassed the form of a sleek, short-snouted quadruped. Brush-like ears and a tail sprouted and the red soon faded to black as her Umbreon appeared. The Pokémon's dark body was broken up by golden ring patterns that nearly shone under the daylight.

Brent put his hands on his hips. "You've used a few moves during your dances, right? Try to hit us with one of them."

"Hit you?" She gasped. "Won't that hurt?

Brent nearly fell over in laughter, causing Zuki to cast a judgmental glare. Brent said through his chuckles, "I think it's supposed to hurt a little bit. Pokémon get stronger and healthier the more they battle because their bodies like that kind of enrichment, or something along those lines."

"Well, okay…" she clenched her eyes shut. "Please don't be mad at me for making you fight, Lucine."

Her Umbreon yapped at its—her, he assumed by the name—trainer but prepared a battle stance. A lousy one, if he were being honest, but she implied that neither of them had ever battled before. He'd just have to do his best to get them up to speed!

"Lucy, use… uhh… well, we use Moonlight during our performances, right? Use Moonlight."

The Umbreon focused her power and the rings around her body glowed. Soon, her entire body was engulfed in light and particles of light were pulled from the surrounding air. When the glow dissipated, the Pokémon let out a howl.

Brent blinked. If his Magikarp had eyelids, it would have blinked too. That was it? "Uhh, Zuki, I don't think that was an attack."

"I'm not exactly an expert, okay!" She puffed out her cheeks, which turned a bright red.

"That's fine!" he reassured as he crossed the battlefield towards, putting himself by her side. She looked to her for confirmation, and she nodded. Brent pulled her arm out, splayed her palm, and put another hand on her opposite shoulder to twist her body back. "Posture is important to get you into it, just like a fighting stance. Doesn't that feel powerful?"

"I guess so," she offered.

"Now," he started as he jogged back over to his Magikarp, "I want you to hit us with everything you've got. Any attack you have. Throw it at us!"

Zuki's face transformed. Her features, normally rounded, sharpened instantly and she curled a fist in front of her chest. She shouted at the top of her lungs. "Use Dark Pulse!"

Umbreon's rings disappeared as its entire body was engulfed in shadow. The blackness began to beat like a heart as it covered and concentrated the Pokémon's figure. Brent could feel power radiating from it, but he had no idea what—it wasn't heat, it wasn't light, it wasn't anything. The pulse released from Umbreon's body and flew forward as a wave of Dark-type energy.

In the second before it made contact, Brent could only say, "Aw, hell."

The attack blasted both himself and his Magikarp into the water. He was under for a few seconds until he managed to find bearing and surface, taking a deep breath as he did so. He laughed to himself.

"If that's the best you got, I don't think we have too much to worry about!" he called up to her. Water from his soaked hair ran down his face and the coolness tingled his skin.

"Sorry!" she called before running to the edge of the lake. "I'm so sorry, Brent. Sorry, sorry. I didn't know how strong that move would be! I never used it in battle before."

He put his fingers up in a dripping "V". He grinned ear to ear. "Hey, I'm alright. Dark moves don't bleed or really hurt you at all, they just take a lot out of you. Give me like five minutes and we'll be back on track. Err, wait, where's Magikarp?"

A shining, serpentine form met his eye as he pivoted his head around. The light emitted from the creature lit the entire lake and nearly blocked out the sun. He watched with wide eyes as the body rearranged itself, retracting and sprouting features to fit a new genetic plan. Its color appeared: a royal blue. The light vanished.

The Gyarados that replaced his Magikarp roared into the sky, an earth-shattering, ground-shaking sound. Looking skyward, Brent stared in awe at his Pokémon's new stage of evolution.

Now it was his turn to shout with all his heart as he raised both hands triumphantly. "Yes!"

* * *

Stupid.

He skewered an aluminum can and deposited it in the trash bag.

Asinine.

He skewered a disgusting fast food wrapper sticky with melted cheese and various sauces.

Bullshit.

He skewered an entire cardboard box and held it up, staring at it with dead eyes.

Ahead of him, Dumbass One and Dumbass Two were singing some popular song he didn't care about. The girl joyfully skewered her own trash while the boy held the bag. What kind of twisted saps enjoyed this prison work?

Silver hadn't spoken in almost four hours. Instead, he kept grinding his teeth. He was sure that if he kept on, he'd explode. He'd burst, he'd pop, he'd _snap_. All of this was pointless! He wasn't getting any stronger or getting better at Pokémon battles, not when they were doing all this "community service" shit. And now they were heading the exact opposite direction they needed to be going to find the Rockets, not that they'd listen to him if he tried to tell them where the Rocket's secret headquarters was.

"Yo, Silver!" shouted the girl. "Is your bag almost full?"

He grumpily tied the garbage bag closed and tossed it onto the moving pile. Underneath a mound of bagged trash and the "borrowed" dumpster that held it walked the girl's Marill. Silver could barely see the round blue Pokémon underneath all it was carrying, but it kept pace with the other two and hadn't slowed their entire walk. He wanted to punch the pipsqueak for showing off, but that was the kind of strength he needed. It, along with the two's other Pokémon, had been training and training and training and training and yet he still had _nothing._

Dumbass Two tossed back an empty bag and a water bottle, though he asked for neither. When they weren't looking, Silver downed the entire bottle and tossed it in the bag with all the other trash. Taking handouts made him feel so fucking small. Why did they need to baby him when they were already torturing him? More time passed and he continued to skewer trash in contempt, but then they started singing again.

"A new adventure, another day~" sang the girl in a shrill voice.

She passed to her friend, who continued the line. "One more challenge that comes our way~."

"It's up to me and you," they sang in unison, "we know what we've gotta do!"

He snapped.

"What the _fuck_ do you want from me!?"Silver shouted, dropping a half-filled bag and spilling it all over the ground. "This is stupid, it's garbage, it's complete bullshit. Why haven't I gotten my Pokémon back after all this? Are you gonna make me clean every bathroom in Olivine next?"

The girl gawked at him. That feeling of superiority underlying her gaze twisted his stomach into knots—he _despised_ it.

"All you've done is look down at me while I've done all of your dirty work. Is that it? You just want to get back at me for stealing and punching your idiot friend? Answer me!" he shouted.

The girl didn't say anything. More like, she couldn't say anything. He was exactly right, she was just a sadist bitch who wanted to see him squirm under her heel, and now that he called her out for it, she couldn't excuse herself. Silver never should have put himself in a compromising situation, but he was done dealing with them.

"Is…" she paused, "is that what you think? That this is a punishment?"

Silver drove his shoe into the fallen trash, sending the bag flying to their feet. It spilled various garbage across the road, reversing all the work he'd done for the past twenty minutes. Not that it mattered to him. He wouldn't do this "work" anymore. "What else is this? I feel like a fucking criminal."

"But you are a criminal," said the moron, before the girl shushed him silent. Silver dug his nails into his hand.

"You said I was going to earn my Pokémon back," Silver shouted, "and I made it clear that I'm here to get stronger! I can't face the Rockets if I'm not strong!"

"But Silver, this _is_ your training," the girl refuted.

He felt his anger break because he couldn't sustain the concentrated rage. Silver leveled his eyes with the floor and breathed deeply. There was no way. There was no way he wasted two months of his life on this.

She approached him, but he didn't look up. He felt a hand on his shoulder, which he smacked away, but she remained in place even if she didn't try to touch him again. "The first thing you don't understand about Pokémon is that you have to help them. You help them grow, and in return, they help you by battling. You help them live, and they help you by being partners, companions, friends. That's what this is. Think about all the people we've helped."

"What the fuck do you mean 'we?'" he muttered.

She shrugged. "I wouldn't make you do anything I wouldn't do myself. That would be cruel."

That's right. Like when they cleaned out the alley. Nearly every time she made him do some random busy work, she was right there doing the same. Even the moron pitched in. But why? Why wouldn't she want to punish him? It didn't make sense. _She_ didn't make sense.

"Do you need some more water?" the other boy asked. He offered another bottle. Silver silently took it and downed half of it in a single swig-he wasn't hot, he was just exhausted from anything and everything. He could feel himself decompressing, but it was leaving him worn out. He raised his eyes to the two to see them staring intently at him. She was judging him again.

"Hey, Crystal, I just had a thought," said the moron.

"It truly is the end times," she chided as she rolled her eyes. Still, she let herself be pulled aside by the other boy, who leaned close to her and whispered.

Silver would have tried to listen in if he wasn't too tired to move. The roadside felt unnecessarily comfortable as he dropped to a sit. With nothing to keep him occupied, he poked at the spilled trash with his skewer.

"Okay," said the girl. They broke the huddle. "Okay, okay, okay. I get it. And stop punctuating every sentence with wisping sounds."

"Hehe, sorry," her friend said.

"Let's _go,_ Silver," she stressed. "We're going to go dump all we collected and find the Pokémon Center downtown. Gold, did you write down the address like I asked?"

"Nope!" he exclaimed.

"Ugh. I've heard inner-city Olivine is pretty easy to navigate anyway. We better get a move on so there aren't any super long lines from trainers stopping for the night."

Silver didn't move for a while. It was seconds after they began to walk off that he roughly picked himself up, grabbed as much scattered garbage as he could, and followed after. Only the moron looked back at him and Silver frowned at the thumbs up he was given. His stupid face was too cheery sometimes.

The trip was shorter than he expected, and with the Marill carrying the heavy load, it was easy to find their way across the city after returning the dumpster to its original location. Each building in the city looked the goddamn same and it made his senses go haywire trying to differentiate anything as he looked above the passing high-rises. The Pokémon Center was maybe the only building with any color other than unpainted metal. As they stepped inside, Silver threw up his hood and retreated into his hoodie.

The girl conversed with the Pokémon Center nurse and informed them that one of the PC booths was available for them to use. He tried to keep his head down as they walked down the hall and ducked into the corner-nestled seat, surrounded by other chatting trainers going about their digital business. Goosebumps littered his neck due to his proximity to so many other people. It wasn't his usual business.

Between he and the other two was a large machine with monitors on both sides connected to a central apparatus littered with flashing status lights. She retrieved something from her overall pocket. He watched with tapping fingers as she logged into her PC account and typed something from a small card.

The next few moments soared in a blur. Silver blinked, and by then a Poké Ball was in his hand. The machine had whirred and glowed and spun and clunked after the girl across him performed the trading process. She also handed back the rectangular item—his trainer card was finally returned to him.

He gazed at the capsule and then he looked up. Why did he need their approval anyway? Still the girl nodded, so he stepped from the capsule and tapped the button.

Croconaw exploded from the capsule. The red beam pulsed while expanding, limbs constructing from nothing until the entire red body was complete, fading after to blue. The Pokémon was no longer littered with small injures. No, it had been healed and tended to, and now rather than cowering before him in fear, it snapped at him in distaste. He fell to a sitting position, his legs splayed weakly.

"You want to destroy the Rocket Syndicate," stated the girl. "I do too. After seeing what they're capable of and how little the police can do, I feel like it falls to us. But you've gone about it the wrong way until now. I wanted to show you how to be a good person, because only then can you stop bad people. Do you think you're a good person?"

"I… I don't know," he said.

She laughed softly. "That's okay. What matters is that you've tried, and we've done a lot of good together. So, let's start from the beginning here.

"Just do what you think you should do!" exclaimed the moron.

Silver extended his hand. The blue reptilian bared its teeth and once again snapped its jaws as his palm moved closer. The fin atop its head extended with its alertness. It was stressed. It hated him. Still, he put forward his palm.

His skin touched the scaled snout of the Pokémon and rested. They were at peace.

* * *

March, march, march! Hut, hut, hut! Left, left, left right left!

Brent cheered in his mind as he and Zuki drove up successive rocky inclines. Her hand and his held firmly together, they ascended natural stone stairs to the heavens to carry themselves slowly aside—or maybe over—Mount Mortar. The supposed mountain was more like a cracked dome enclosing a vast above-ground cave, if there even was such a thing. He didn't know, but he did know that it'd be mighty unfortunate if he were to fall into one of various crevices that emptied into the caves below.

"Are you okay up there, Lucy?" Zuki asked her Pokémon. Her Umbreon had taken the lead position, spotting any cracks or unstable surfaces to make sure neither of them accidentally fell through the mountain. The Pokémon yapped and continued moving.

Behind them, Furret kept watch. They were high enough that it was unlikely they'd be attacked by any wilds, but it was in his partner's nature to be the sentry. He was far too big now to ride on his shoulder, but the mammalian Pokémon took it in stride.

"This isn't prime real estate to help you get used to Pokémon battles," Brent began, "so I'm sorry we had to put that on hold for a bit. Once we get onto more even ground, I swear we'll get right back into it."

"Thank you. I think I need to take it slow anyway," she said. "It's not like there's a rush."

"This is precarious," Brent announced while surveying the magnificent landscape of rocks around them. The rainbow of tans and greys and beiges across Mount Mortar's surface were almost as beautiful as the full color spectrum. "But it's fun! I'm still blown away by all the cool stuff I see around here. Most of my neighborhood at home was boring old dirt fields."

"I guess we both come from rustic beginnings," Zuki replied absentmindedly. She was focused on her footing. She nearly slipped on a wet stone, but his grip on her helped return her to her feet. "Brent, you say you want to be a hero, but how do you judge your success as a person?"

"Huh?" He turned his head back and shot her a look. It seemed a little dumb to micromanage his own life philosophy. If he helped as many people as he could, he'd be a hero. That was all he needed.

"What happens when you fail?" she answered his question with one of her own. "What will you do then?"

That's simple. "I'll just try some more."

She went silent, but it wasn't an accepting silence. He could tell she didn't like the answer, but he couldn't understand why. All he had to do was keep trying and eventually it'd make a real difference. Right?

"Do… do you value yourself?" she asked.

"Of course I—" He stopped his words and his legs. He didn't know how to answer that.

"If you don't place any value in yourself, you only have your aspiration to be a hero to define your self-worth. I just hope that you know who you are and what it means to succeed as _yourself_."

What it meant to succeed as himself? Wasn't his ultimate success being the person he wanted to be, and every person he saved a steppingstone? Sure, there wasn't exactly a clear benchmark to what a "hero" was, but that meant he could keep helping people forever. That's all the mattered to him, ever since his mother had to be that hero for his sake. He just wanted to be like her, to be able to help people at all costs. _That_ was succeeding as himself.

"I just think it makes me happy to help people. When I help people, I succeed. I think that's good enough. I _hope_ that's good enough."

Brent realized he was frowning. That certainly wouldn't do! He smiled as hard as he could, stressing all the muscles in his face to do so. He needed to smile, and he showed Zuki to prove it to her.

Her silence let them resume their climb, though it still wasn't content. Brent tried to ignore the doubt and focused on slowly inching and shifting across the rock. He watched the sun trail the length of the sky as it slowly fell behind them, casting minor shadows into the evening. East, east, east, that what where they needed to be. His next Gym Battle awaited once they finally reached Mahogany.

To pass the time, he juggled his Poké Balls; the three round objects were perfect for the job. At the same time as he tried to keep his balance, he tossed the three between his hands like a circus act. One slipped from his hand at the same time as he overcompensated and tossed another skyward. The former, fortunately, was caught by Furret, who dove forward to prevent it from falling down a crack, while he fumbled with the latter once it fell back into his hands. He decided to return the two to his messenger bag and resort to staring at the remaining one.

"I'm really proud of all the work this little guy put in. I'll try not to drop him down a hole next time."

"I'm not sure it's accurate to call him 'little guy' anymore, Brent," said Zuki.

"Yeah, I guess so! But he'll always be my little guy, just like the others. Isn't that right, Furret?" Furret chattered and squeaked at the question.

A slight tremor caught his attention and this time he was the one who nearly slipped down a crack. Furret dashed ahead of them and both he and Lucine's ears perked to full attention. The ground shook once again, causing Brent to gasp. "What's going on?"

"I-I don't know," stuttered Zuki, who dropped low to the ground to try to keep balance. The rumbling was growing in strength, meaning something was coming, but Brent couldn't see anything as he scanned around the domed peaks of Mount Mortar. Which meant…

"It's below. Maybe a collapse of the caves. We need to get down there," he announced resolutely.

"I don't mean to be rude," said Zuki, "but that's too dangerous. We're in a poor location as is."

He stared directly into her eyes. Brent hoped his plea could be seen through his own. He said, "There might be people or Pokémon trapped down there like trainers. If I can help them, I can't ignore it."

She swallowed but nodded. "How do you plan to get into the cave? We don't have any way to lower ourselves down."

"Does your Umbreon know Protect?" he asked.

"I think so," she said nervously. "What do you plan to do?"

"Use Protect on us both. I think we can make it down because it'll cushion our landing, since it protects the user from exterior force. Technically, hitting the ground is an exterior force."

"O-okay." The hesitation was apparent, but she took his hand again. She trusted him, and that was all he needed. "Lucy, use Protect on both of us."

Her Umbreon howled into the sky and with it came a shine. Blue-green light surrounded it, before it also appeared around his own body. Brent stared at his hands, turning them over in front of himself to marvel at the change. Zuki too was outlined in the mysterious sheen.

Once again, he smiled as big as he could, and then he let her hand go. As the fall began, he quickly flashed Furret's Poké Ball and recalled the creature before he plummeted into the dark cave below. Air rushing up to him tugged on his clothes and bag, the latter of which he barely managed to catch and hold to his chest. He flipped in the air, unable to control his fall, but he corrected to upright position. The ground was approaching. He braced himself.

His feet slammed home from the 100-meter drop. The Protect surged through him and absorbed the impact through his legs—a shudder ran through him, tightening all his muscles at once. He stood slowly, stiff but in one piece.

The rumbling was stronger on the ground and clashed with the overwhelming sound of waves. Light filtered from cracks above into the heart of Mount Mortar's caverns like the sun's rays through a cloud cover. The cavern was dimly lit enough that he could make out a titanic waterfall emptying into a wide river rushing past them. He had landed on the shore.

A man screamed and jumped from the waterfall. There was nothing he could do as he, and more behind him, jumped into the waves below. Brent rushed to the shore and released Furret and Eevee. He shouted over the deluge, "Pull them out as they float past! They'll be washed away if they don't!"

Thundering behind him announced Zuki's own impact on the cave floor. After confirming she was safe, he waded into the shallows and barely grabbed the arm of a man in martial arts as he floated past. With as much force as he could muster, Brent threw the man over his shoulder onto the rocky shore. Furret and Eevee worked in tandem; Eevee grabbed its partner's tail fur in its mouth to anchor the longer creature to dry land while it stretched its body into the rapids to wrap around and retrieve another.

Zuki planted herself at his side, sans shoes and socks. They worked diligently, not letting any of the struggling people past them. A few Pokémon were among the washed-away, leaving Brent surprised when he pulled a segmented, tube-like limb from the water. The Hitmonlee was in shock and barely moved as it touched dry land.

"Is that everyone?" Brent shouted to the amassed group of survivors.

The first man he pulled out spoke up, coughing water from his lungs as he did so. He squinted through the darkness, before responding, "I- I think we've got everyone. We were training at the top of the falls, but there's… there's a rockslide!"

The rumbling. It was getting louder. He slowly turned his body towards the falls. The mountain itself thundered towards him. A cloud of dust mounted among the megaton of debris rolling towards the falls. They were running from it because there was nowhere else for them to go. Ignoring the figures stranded by the river, stampedes of Geodude and their relatives retreated through the cave.

"Helping Hand!" Brent shouted as he turned back towards the group.

"What? What do you mean?" asked Zuki who struggled to be heard amongst the growing

"I need Pokémon with Helping Hand!" he exclaimed. "It's a move that can transfer energy to another to give them a temporary boost. I might be able to stop the rockslide, but I need as many as we have!"

The group of rescues looked between themselves. All were martial artists, wearing the same getup as the leader he fished out. Quickly, many of them fumbled with Poké Balls retrieved from their gis and pockets. He was lucky so many of the items weren't washed away in the stream.

Flash after flash of red materialization beams brought a crowd of Fighting-type Pokémon to the field. Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan, Primeape, Machop, Poliwhirl, and a few others he didn't recognize, like a short, onion-shaped creature with a bow on its head and a humanoid with bladed forearms.

"Gyarados, I need your help!" Brenr exclaimed. He threw the Poké Ball skyward and the resulting call to the field materialized his serpentine creature into the raging river. The creature turned its massive head towards him, and their locked gazes communicated all that needed to be said. It faced the waterfall and the approaching avalanche beyond. Brent signaled the leader.

"Everyone, use Helping Hand!" the martial artist commanded. His students repeated the order, as did Brent to Furret and Eevee and Zuki to her Umbreon.

Gold. Their position became shrouded in gold. The entourage focused all their energies until they manifested as golden auras. The pathways were firing on all cylinders to expel everything they had from the bodies of each Pokémon. The trainers ordered them to direct their energy.

The glow encompassed Gyarados completely. Any remaining fatigue from his evolution was washed away and replaced by the pure borrowed power of his temporary allies. He bellowed, echoing into the cave.

Brent gave the order. _"Use Surf!"_

The river erupted. Gyarados's surge of power allowed it to throw every liter of water at the waterfall's base skyward. They were just in time. The tidal wave crashed directly against the rockslide, the sheer force of the water meeting it like the charge of two armies.

The Pokémon behind him continued to supply energy. The power transferred through the cavern air was palpable, as was the resolve of the group of martial artists. He wouldn't let them down. He and his Pokémon were responsible for their survival.

A rock burst through the wave. It wasn't large, but it was big enough to make Brent's forearm snap as it crashed past him. He heard Zuki shout his name.

Gyarados's energy ran dry. The tidal wave receded. The rockslide, while not entirely stopped, lost so much momentum that the rolling earth plummeted harmlessly over the waterfall and sank in the lake below. The misplaced water rushed past them and knocked the entire group off their feet.

They waited with hushed breaths. The rumble slowly subsided. The cavern was still.

Brent threw one arm in the air. The martial artists erupted in victorious cheer accompanied by Gyarados's own battle cry when his borrowed energy dissipated. They were saved.

"Brent, are you alright?!" asked Zuki. She planted herself beside him on the ground.

"I can't feel my arm, but I'm okay! We're okay!" he shouted to himself. He laughed. "We're okay!"

"Oh, oh no, oh no no no no no…" While examining his bent forearm, she rambled to herself. "I think it's broken."

He assured Zuki it was fine. She wasn't convinced. "You're running on adrenaline. The minute you come down you're going to be incapacitated."

"If I'm hurt, I'm hurt. No big deal," Brent said. "They're what matters."

The martial arts troupe towered over him on the ground. The leader offered a hand he took firmly with his good arm to pull himself to his feet. Brent met the man face to face.

"My name is Kiyo and I am the Karate Master of the Fighting Dojo in Saffron City. My students and I were training deep in the cavern to focus our minds, but we would have not lived to practice another day had you not intervened. We are forever in your debt," he said in a heavy Kantonian accent. It wasn't far off Johtoan speak, but it was just enough to throw him off. Plus, Brent's arm burned _viciously,_ so his senses were just a bit out of whack. Only a little. The man continued, "If there is anything we can do to repay you, we will fulfill the request."

"No need to be so formal, man. I think I just need to get to a hospital and my Pokémon to the nearest center, is all," he said. Staring at Gyarados, Brent saw it had raised Furret and Eevee into the air atop its head. They brought a light to his face.

"At least take one of our junior Pokémon. As a gift." Kiyo pushed a Poké Ball into his hand alongside a hastily written note with an authorization code to trade from his PC.

Brent tapped the button, but the mechanism opened without releasing a Pokémon. Instead, a small creature of hardly a meter, pink with a three-segment crown, and what appeared to be bandages around its limbs stood at his feet. "Oh. I've never seen a Tyrogue in person. But, I couldn't."

" _You must!"_ said the disciples of Kiyo as one. _"It is our honor!"_

"Then, it shall be my honor as well!" Brent declared, laughing.

Zuki gathered herself beside him, though looking down he could see she was missing her footwear. They must have washed away, but if that's and an arm were all they lost, it was a good day. No, he had saved everyone. It was a great day!

"Are you ready to go?" asked Zuki. "We need to get you medical attention as soon as possible and I'm not taking no for an answer."

He laughed. "Right, I don't want to worry you. Let's get out of here, everyone!"

" _Yes, sensei!"_ The martial artists shouted. It made him blush.

* * *

 **Here comes a brand-new world. I couldn't be more excited for Generation VIII if I tried; with the addition of the Wild Area with roaming Pokémon and free camera control, Pokémon is going to feel like a modern 3D adventure game, something many of us have been wishing for since 2013. Dynamaxing is an interesting new addition, especially how it compares in balance to Mega Evolutions and Z-Moves. It's essentially a mid-point between the two with a time limit. I only wish I didn't have to go through the trouble of explaining it in this series, though I'm already drafting plans to incorporate it into the next story.**

 **I know a substantial part of the hardcore fanbase is up-in-arms about some of the exclusionary changes Sword and Shield are undertaking, but I think I'm in a minority subset who's fine with—or at least neutral on—the change. I feared since Generation VI that the total roster of Pokémon would become unsustainable (I remember an official statement confirming the generation's small roster resulted from that) so I expected at some point we'd have a trade-off with newly introduced Pokémon. I love the ever-expanding universe and being able to discover new Pokémon for the first time, and since I don't have a completed Pokedex anywhere to sway my decision, I can accept fewer returning Pokémon. Though, I do enjoy the overload of memes the controversial change has created. You can always expect the internet to make best out of a polarizing situation.**

 **I think one of my biggest roadblocks in the first arc to using Brent's perspective was not knowing how to differentiate his thoughts and nonverbal descriptions from Ciel. The two have similarly headstrong and good-natured personalities, hence why they get along, but I struggled to actively distinguish their inner monologues. With Crystal, I make use of her sarcastic nature in her thoughts, while I exaggerate and use humor in many of Gold's. Here, I'm trying something new with Brent to highlight his inner positivity and backwater roots, especially since he'll have more focus for the remainder of the story.**

 **Next time is Chapter 20: Forced to Stand. Its expected release date is July 5th, so check my profile for progress updates. See you around!**


	20. Forced to Stand

**This story is co-developed and edited by Titan127.**

 **Disclaimer: Pokémon is a registered property of Nintendo, the Pokémon Company, and GameFreak. This work respectfully uses the world and characters of the Pokémon series, with no intent of harm on the original creators. Please support the official releases of the Pokémon franchise.**

 **Chapter 20: Forced to Stand (5,722 words)**

* * *

"Huff, huff, huff, huff…"

A man strained every muscle in his legs to move forward. His nightly jog got harder every day if he didn't skip it entirely. His stomach bounced with every step. It was heavy to lift his own body despite how powerful his muscles still were. Letting himself go was the worst mistake he ever made.

"Put…one foot… in front… of the other," he huffed to himself. "One foot in front… of the other…"

He kept his face down, eyes on sandy beach he ran. He could barely see his feet past his regrettably enlarged gut. All he wore were some beaten up red pants—they were one half of a full martial arts gi that he'd long worn out, held up by a black belt.

Black belt. He kept telling himself to remember that as he struggled to put one foot in front of the other. A real martial artist wouldn't give up just because an extra fifty pounds weighed him down. It was barely training gear.

He muttered over and over to himself. "C'mon, Chuck. You… can do this. Breathe… and run. That's all you gotta do."

In his periphery, the sun fell behind the range of rocks jutting from the water. They stopped the larger waves off the Sekido Ocean from swallowing the shore whole. The only thing between him and a watery grave was an inert pile of earth. The fading light made the sand beneath him turn blue.

His left leg gave out. Slowing to a crawl, he tried weakly to keep running, but he knew deep down he couldn't do it. No matter how hard he tried, he wasn't the person he used to be. He could never be that person again.

Chuck hunched over and caught his breath in the sand. There was nothing left. He just wanted to lie back into the sand and sleep. However, when he looked toward the ocean again, he could see something floating against the shore, threatened to be pulled away by the tide. It looked like… a person!

He called on any last reserves he could to reach them. He dropped to his knees to examine the boy. His skin was pruned and lacking in color. Chuck laid the back of his hand against the boy's cheek; it was cold. This blond kid must have been floating adrift in the ocean, but why? A shipwreck?

The man placed an emergency call as fast as he could. Sweat from his hands made the phone slip out of his grasp, but he gripped it tighter as the line connected. There wasn't much time left to save him, but damn him if Chuck wasn't going to try. He owed it to himself to try.

* * *

"The Boss wants you. She said Vampire put in a few words."

Heart rate of 60, meet 150. Proton thought he'd go deaf from his own heartbeat as he walked down to the Boss's office. His brain scrambled—he couldn't see, hear, or feel. Various prickles ran up his fingertips as he grabbed the Boss's door and stepped inside.

Proton sat in the chair in front of the Boss, who, as usual, was smoking a cigar. The neutral expression on her face was a farce. He knew what was coming.

"I'd like to congratulate you on some excellent work disrupting the schedules of the conservation workers at the Lake of Rage."

"Yes, ma'am!" he yelped, forcing a lump down his throat. For the fifth time this week, he'd been called into the Boss's office on recommendation. He stood at full attention, stiff as a pencil, arms at his sides and legs glued together.

According to Vampire, the operation there is ready to run," said the Boss. "We've got decoy guards in place at the Route Gate to prevent anyone from snooping and it's likely we'll have our catch within a few days."

"Of course, Boss! That's wonderful news for the whole Syndicate, Boss!" His shouting was alarmingly obvious because he couldn't control his voice. She didn't notice or care.

Ariana snatched a picture frame from her desk and spun her chair around. Never one to dawdle and risk his head, he took it as a sign of dismissal and hurried out the door. Proton's body was going to give out and he didn't need the Boss to witness it.

When he exited the office, the purple-haired culprit giggled, revealing herself as he shut the door behind him. A coldness ran his entire spine, but he was sweating. Proton experienced every type of physical shock at once. She didn't follow him when he returned to his own room, but he felt her eyes.

The first major break since the semester started in April left Proton with a lot of free time to do illicit things. His first weekend was spent bypassing the administration security for Goldenrod University and changing every official document to push the return of classes back another week. It might not fool the staff, but enough students not showing up would force them to cancel a day or two at the least. He thought himself a genius.

The Boss ordered him more and more work to do during the lull, mostly here-and-there ventures they were stirring excess cash with. An underground breeding ring had popped up in some of Goldenrod's unused basement tunnels and he judged about three weeks before the League caught on. As usual, he was assigned to keep security off them. A few looping static frames in one place and an unexplained malfunction in another was enough. Guys who watch cameras all day weren't the smartest bunch.

Proton even took to overseeing some of the shipments that were funneling through the base from Goldenrod, smuggled aboard an unsuspecting freight line. It wasn't his job, but Archer was busy being snotty about their overseas stiff and Petrel hated doing, well, _anything_ that didn't service him, so no one complained. Really, any work to get his mind off the knife hanging over his head would do.

"Hey, Proton! Watcha dooooooin?" asked Squeak from above the minute he sat down in his bunk.

Squeak was his roommate, as despite being an executive in the Syndicate, he was still in a standard grunt bunk. Hearing her speak, Proton agreed with the codename. He said, "Absolutely nothing that warrants your curiosity."

"You and I both know there's nothing that doesn't warrant my curiosity. Watcha doin? Watcha doin? Watcha doin?" she squeaked.

"I'm hacking into the mainframe of the International Pokémon League at the Grand Axis," he said. Proton hoped the dismissive tone would make her go away. It didn't.

She giggled. "That's just movie jargon. What are you _really_ doing?"

"I'm getting some actual work done," Proton told her, "so if you don't mind—"

"Oh! Have you seen the new Ghost Eraser movie? It turns out the Majin was part of some ancient conspiracy where a dead race sealed it away because it was a dangerous weapon! I bet they're gonna do a prequel next time. _Scary._ "

Small talk is the mortal enemy of people everywhere. He'd already tuned her out and focused on the book in front of him. His literature class made him want to throw himself off the nearest bridge. She made him want to do a flip on the way down

Squeak hung from the bed atop his, meeting his gaze upside-down. Though he kept his line of sight squarely on his laptop, it was difficult to ignore her.

"So, like, me and Muscles—do you know Muscles, the big girl? Anyway, me and Muscles were hanging around the base and overheard that we might get to keep some Pokémon from the Indigo heist. I want Lance's Dragonite. That guy's a dreamer, ya know?" she said.

Proton kept silent and reread the same line for the fifth time. Now sixth.

She continued droning. Her voice was getting higher. "You know any of the juicy deets around the base? Apparently, Petrel is dating someone, that creep. No idea who'd give him a chance, what with the hunchback and face, but love is love I guess."

"What the hell do you even do here?" he asked, breaking his non-existent concentration.

"Super awesome stuff!" she exclaimed. "Archer says I can talk people's heads off so he makes me talk to big important people while everyone else is doing their thing. You believe the nerve on that guy?"

Archer might be the only one in the base with _any_ nerve, he thought. Either way, Squeak used her talents well. "Why don't you go distract someone else?"

"But, I wanna distract _you,"_ she chirped.

Ignore mode resumed. Closing ear canals, check. Downward gaze, check. U-shaped frown, check. Eventually, even rodents got bored.

"Hey Proton. Hey Proton. Hey Proton. Hey Proton. Hey Proton. Hey Proton."

Already in constant stress, Proton could barely stand it. He just needed everyone to shut up and leave him alone. He needed time to think and to decompress, time to formulate a plan in case Vampire ratted his episode to the Boss. Was that too much to ask?

"Hey Proton. Hey Proton. Hey Proton. Oh, wait, should I just call you Tomo? Tomo! Tomo!" she joyously squeaked.

He slammed his laptop shut and met her eye. "How do you know my name?"

"Well, I didn't exactly know it was your name, but you just confirmed the rumor. Tomo!"

He grabbed her by the collar, the sudden movement knocking his cap from his face and revealing his teal hair. He could see his own sharp expression reflected in her dark-colored eyes. Proton repeated, " _How_ do you know my name?"

The rough contact didn't sway her attitude. She giggled. "Come on, man. Everybody in the base knows your real name by now. You go to Goldenrod, right? You should be more careful who you talk to. Rumors don't discriminate."

He didn't tell anyone his name. Ever. Only one person could have spread it around. If the whole base knew his identity, that meant the Boss knew his identity. And if she knew who he was, she could find him even after he left the Syndicate.

The sweat came back. Looking at his hands, they trembled in place. There was no doubt that the devil was listening to their conversation. She wanted to keep that fear permanently shifting in the back of his head.

His reason for entering the criminal underworld was because he knew he could get out. He was a hacker! The thing Proton knew best was covering his tracks and disappearing when he needed most, and this should have been no different. But Sird—no, he shouldn't even _think_ her name—Vampire had him trapped, held hostage before the most dangerous mobster in the macro-region.

Proton shot to his feet, which sent Squeak toppling to the floor onto a pile of her own strewn dirty clothes. The executive grabbed his cap, rushed out the door, and slammed it closed, leaving himself stranded in the disorienting hallway. A prevalent smoke smell hung above, and a dirty mold smell below. He already felt sick but being stranded in the dull passages of the Rocket Headquarters turned his stomach over and over and over and over. Proton needed to get out.

He shoved past Grunts loitering in the hallways, barking orders at them on impulse yet staring down to the floor. He didn't lose his cool. Never. But here he was, losing all his cool at once. Proton shoved one poor sap out of the way, which shattered a light at the base of the wall he slammed into.

"Do you care to explain yourself?" asked a stern face he didn't want to see. Archer just happened to be in the hallway while he was melting down and stepped out from behind a gaggle of peons. His thin eyes and immaculate suit always managed to piss Proton off.

"It's nothing, dude," he said softly. "Just let me through."

"You really should do better at hiding your anxieties. You punctuate every trouble with a pull of your cap."

Proton looked up and saw nothing. The brim was far over his eyes, held down with a free hand, one he never even remembered rising. Quickly, he pushed the hat back up, revealing his eyes to his de-facto superior.

"I need to get some air. Give me a mission. Any mission," begged Proton.

Archer traced the slick of his hair with a finger. He hummed. "There is little available. Some scouts are setting up a temporary base in the Seafoam Islands as a stopover for shipments from the western mountains, but it would be foolish to send more manpower than necessary. The same with the Lake of Rage. We're trying to keep our heads low after our previous stint, surely you understand."

"You guys always have something going on. What about Goldenrod? What about Olivine? Anything? Just give me anything anything, man," he said.

A glint appeared in Archer's eye that caught him off guard. Whether it was curious or superior, he couldn't tell. "We do have one open position, since none of our grunts are willing. But it's far outside your line of work. And it's far too dangerous."

"I already did the Slowpoke Well. Give it to me. I'll take it. Just let me leave the base for a while," said Proton.

" _Dangerous_ ," Archer repeated. "The kind where even Ariana's slippery fingers and silver tongue wouldn't save you if you get caught."

"I'll do it," he said again.

The man brought a hand down to his shoulder. He jumped, but there was a minor comfort in it. Archer gave a small laugh. "I hope you know that's binding. If you're so quick to get away from the base, find Petrel and meet me topside tomorrow. And don't say I didn't warn you."

Among the murmurs of the grunts around, Archer's steady laugh carried far after he'd walked away. Proton was stranded in the hallway and decided to find a couple of disorganized crates to sit behind away from everyone.

" _I'll run this as far as it'll go,"_ Petrel had said, _"and then when we inevitably go under, I'll probably find a way to escape. You should too."_

How important was it that he keep on? The Rockets were the only place he ever truly felt like he had a purpose. Not college, not at any stupid part-time he used to have, not even with some online forums he frequented. But, every synapse in his head screamed at him to disappear. Now he couldn't disappear now that he'd gotten so deep. The persistent memory of Vampire's giggle reminded him that no matter where he was, he'd never be alone again.

* * *

The cup of tea burned Ciel's palms, yet he couldn't put it down.

It was clear, void of creamer and the cheap teabag barely steeped. The face of a complete wreck stared him back from the reflection. He wouldn't look away.

The man standing over him breathed in, snorted, and rubbed his nose. He pulled a chair over—the kind of basic fold-up chair for parties—and sat across Ciel. A coffee table stood between them, but its surface wasn't visible under a mound of miscellaneous junk. The entire room matched perfectly. Picture frames, multiple standing clocks, bookshelves, trophy cabinets, paintings, old televisions, kitchenware, empty boxes, a record player; no part of the room was free of _stuff._

"So, uhh," the man began, voice marred with scratches, "you should probably drink that. I don't know how long you were floating, but you've gotta be running on empty."

"No," Ciel said. He didn't feel hungry, even though he knew his body lied. A large towel was draped over his shoulders. "What day is it?"

"It's the tenth, no eleventh, err… Hey, Aki! What day is it?" he shouted out of the room.

An older woman's voice shot back, "Saturday!"

"No, the _date_. Number!"

"I don't know. The tenth? The World Trial is next week. Let me check the calendar," said the voice. A few seconds later, she said, "Yeah! The tenth!"

The man turned back to him. "The tenth."

It didn't really matter to him how long it had been, but the smallest bearing helped. He removed one hand from the cup and pulled five Poké Balls from the pocket of his borrowed pants—whatever clothes he wore when he washed up were all-but destroyed, as was his duffel. He had nothing but five capsules, two of which were hollow, and a probably busted Poké GEAR on his wrist.

The man across didn't say anything when Ciel placed them between strewn belongings on the table. It was late at night with only a dim lightbulb to reveal the house's living room, but it was enough to illuminate a worn map across the room. Posters and postcards fought it for space on the wall. Ciel said, "Is that yours?"

He looked over at the map, and before he answered, his eyes lingered. "Yeah. It's all the places around the world I've been for martial arts tournaments. Used to, anyway."

Ciel scanned the map absently. The eastern continent was eclipsed with pins—there weren't any repeat colors, so the hundreds of markers plastered a rainbow over Kalos, Adala, Johto, Kanto, and Boreos. A few scattered points were marked on every other landmass. He'd been everywhere at least once.

"What's that one?" asked Ciel, whose curiosity was piqued by the odd placement. One pin was speared in the middle of a region-sized lake.

"Oh, that one! That's one of hell of a story," he said as he stood to examine the map. The man touched a finger to the printed waters. "It was like, 86, I think. They—the Pokémon League, I mean—were celebrating the twenty years since the big war ended, so they thought they'd invite everyone to the resort island in the middle of the Odisa Region and make it as big a thing as the World Trial. Really felt like it, too, staying in a luxury hotel and doing interviews and hanging out with the big government guys. It was the only worldwide event I ever took first in."

Ciel tracked his eyes slowly to the space above the marker, where an old medal hung. He must have been staring at it too, but Ciel saw a pang of sadness when the man realized how clouded the metal was. "Of course, Odisa's weather is _insane,_ so it was 22 one night and a blizzard the next. We had to camp out in the arena when it hit during the finals. The runner-up dragged me aside and demanded a different competition to see who was still standing."

"I brought _saké_ ," said the other voice's owner as she stepped into the living room. She cleared the table some, almost halfheartedly, to make room. The man thanked her and shot some back.

Ciel looked up for the first time since he was herded into the man's home. The first thing he noticed was his sizable belly and Ciel felt guilty for staring. However, the rest of his body was toned, muscled, almost like it belonged to someone else. Trailing upward, a sizable moustache under his nose compensated for his balding, receding hair. He seemed of western descent, while his wife was clearly more native, like Ciel's own parents.

He kept stealing glances at Ciel's Poké Balls, but Ciel tried to find more nothing to talk about to distract himself. "Do you still do martial arts? Tournaments, I mean."

"Tournaments, not so much anymore. Not much for a guy my age to participate in. I moved on to teaching after I stopped doing regular competitions. Not that I'm doing much of that anymore either. Haven't had a class in, uhh..." His eyes gravitated to the floor just as his guest had been doing and he went silent. His wife wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

"You're Charles Hartwig, Gym Leader of Cianwood," Ciel announced flatly.

"Oh! So, you know who I am!" He laughed and shot more of the alcohol back. His wife had brought over another chair and shared the drink. "And it's Chuck. Charles makes me sound Galaran."

"Why?" Ciel asked.

"Why what? I mean, it's a Galaran name. Dates to some old kings and—"

"Why have me stay with you?" Ciel elaborated.

Chuck shrugged. "It just seems like a nice thing to do. I don't want you sleeping in the sand for however long you're in town."

Ciel shook his head, causing the married couple to share a glance. He kept shaking his head, over and over and over until he didn't even know who it was aimed at. Closing his hands on his lap, he could still remember that sickly oozing feeling of blood and rain, Arden in his arms. Ciel finally decided what to say and looked up. "No. You know who I am."

Chuck leveled with him, and said softly, "You're Kori and Daku's kid. Ciel, right? You were at the Showdown."

"Why not send me back? Why deal with me at all?"

"You, uhh," Chuck paused, "you don't seem like you want to go home right now."

Ciel gazed again over his Poké Balls. Two of them he'd left in Olivine after letting one get hurt. He didn't even know if Arden was alive. Ciel shut his eyes as he felt small tears well up. His face probably looked scrunched and puffy, but he couldn't stop the flow. He rubbed his face haphazardly.

What kind of Trainer was he? He didn't just kill one of his Pokémon by thinking he was hot shit—he ran away from it. His mother warned him against it. What would she think? She, a renowned Pokémon Trainer with more wisdom than Ciel could hope to gather, would look at him in disgust. His father wouldn't offer a passing glance, not after Ciel acted like he had some moral high ground when they talked in Goldenrod.

Ciel failed. He failed, and Chuck was right. He didn't want to go home.

"Here, honey," said Chuck's wife, Aki, before she handed him a tissue. Ciel grasped for it with his eyes closed and dragged it across his face.

"I don't really know what you're going through right now, but look," said Chuck. "I get it. I really do. Sometimes you get washed up. Just try not to… live with it, okay?"

Ciel met his eyes. He tried to say something, but his throat suddenly burned. After going untouched, lukewarm, Ciel threw back the entire cup of tea. When he pulled the cup down, Chuck and Aki had already stood from their chairs.

"The couch pulls out. Just take of the cushions and pull up. Feel free to stay as long as you like. We cook too much anyway," said Aki in her smooth voice.

The two left him to his lonesome, missing two of his friends, barely back from the brink of dead, holed up in a stranger's house. They shut the light off when they left the room. Only the stagnant smell of hung paper and the uncomfortable texture of an old couch remained.

Ciel pulled his legs to his chest, continuing to stare at the spot where the map used to be. Ciel could no longer see it, so it ceased to exist.

* * *

It was common for Chuck to wake up in the middle of the night. Sleep never came easy to a man his age and it was more common for him to wake four or five times than otherwise. He slipped out from under the covers, slowly lifting his wife's hand from around his waist, and made for the door quietly. The floorboards creaked under his weight.

"Nnng, where are you going?" said a drowsy voice from the bed.

Shit. He whispered back, "I'm just gonna get some water. Trouble sleeping and all that."

Aki didn't move in the bed for a few moments. All he could hear was the slow tick tock, tick tock, tick tock of the old grandfather clock at the side of the wall. Normally, it would be soothing. It wasn't.

"You're going to the Gym again," she murmured with a pillow over her face.

Chuck dropped his head. She knew. She always knew, really, so it didn't matter how many different excused he gave. "...yeah."

"You spend more time there than with me," Aki said. He felt a pang of guilt.

"I need to get in shape. I need to train."

She sat up. He could see the vaguest outline of her body in the darkness, but nothing else. He knew she was boring holes into him with her eyes and could almost feel it. The clock kept ticking.

"Then why hasn't anything changed?" she asked.

He didn't answer. He never had the courage or the integrity to answer that question even if he knew full well why. Chuck was trapped in an endless cycle, the clock ticking away, his own life not waiting for him to get back on track. But he had to keep trying, right? If he kept trying, eventually something would change. _He_ would change.

"Sorry," he whispered, before closing the door. After ducking his head into the living room to make sure the kid was still there, he slipped from the house.

Out in the sand, Chuck took in the galaxy while walking towards the Gym. The benefit to being so far out in a town as miniscule as Cianwood is that there was no smog to hide the stars. It's a real shame he had to live off the beaten path to see it and he wasn't sure it was worth the wasteland of opportunity.

A busted sigil hung over the door marked the Gym as separate from other structures in town. It was an older dojo, probably a hundred years old at this point, that had been dug into the side of the mountain that enclosed the city's west side. When he stepped inside and turned the lights on, the natural formations inside revealed themselves.

Most of the interior was cut or blasted from the mountain rock, creating what were essentially terraces with mats laid out for sparring on the different levels. A stream of water flowed through the rock, pooled in a small pond at the building's base, and drained through a canal the previous Gym Leader had dug to the sea. Supposedly it would take thousands of years for the water to erode the rock, but he could see the flow already sinking through the mountain, cutting it in two. Time was moving faster and faster.

Chuck, who hadn't bothered putting on shoes when he left the house, slowly dipped his feet into the water of the pool. Satisfied with the temperature, he slogged through the water to where the stream abruptly dropped into a waterfall above the pool. He needed to meditate. Sitting under the waterfall, clearing his head, letting it wash away, that was the solution to all his problems.

The door opened before he could step under.

* * *

Ciel had stared at the wall for hours. He wasn't tired, but he wasn't awake. He just was, and he hated it.

A few times he laid down on the couch—he hadn't bothered to pull it out—to drift off, but his mind kept wandering where he didn't want it to. Where was Arden? Arden was in Olivine. Where should Ciel be? He was such an idiot. Why hadn't he caught the next boat back by now?

Raven could take care of him, he rationalized to himself. Someone had to, and he trusted her more than he did himself at that point. At least, if Arden wasn't…

Ciel dug his hands into his face. If he couldn't protect his Pokémon, he shouldn't be a Trainer. It was that simple. Every other decision he hesitated to make, but at least that one he could say for certain. Their safety was more important than his stupid dream, his stupid wish to be a protector.

He appreciated that Chuck let him stay but being in the house of a Gym Leader felt wrong. The hospitality wasn't deserved, not when he was such a failure in comparison. Chuck had it all figured out, but he acted like he understood what Ciel felt. It just made it worse. He didn't need the pity.

"What the hell am I doing?" he asked no one, whispering.

He felt around for his Poké GEAR on the table among his other strewn belongings after a while. Anything to pass the time to distract his thoughts would be fine. He doubted it would even turn on; it had been attached to his wrist while he floated in the ocean and was probably fried. It surprised him when a blinding light struck his eyes.

It was functional. It flickered and a significant part of the top screen was black, but it worked. Scrolling through the Pokédex, he bought himself a few minutes reading about unfamiliar Pokémon species. That quickly fell away when he passed the Cyndaquil line's page. He closed the app immediately.

His text notifications were barren. Crystal had sent him a few well-wishing messages and a photo of them hiking down Route 39. Ciel was tempted, if only for a moment, to send about what had happened, but he decided against it. No reason to bother them.

The only other person who sent him anything was Kris, who sent two texts with the exact same message asking him for a rematch. Like he'd be ready for that ever.

Nothing from Brent. He should have expected it when they split at the Bell Tower—they promised to meet back there in four months, so there was no need to update each other. They'd be there. Ciel hated that he'd have to be the one to send the dreaded message back.

"I can't make it. I messed up. Sorry," he said aloud as he wrote the message. His thumb hovered over the send button. However, he closed the conversation without sending it, leaving it saved as a draft.

Ciel opened his voicemail. Surprisingly, nothing was from his mother, but there were still fifteen missed recordings. All of them were from his father.

He stared at them for a while. The screen flickered again, going completely black for five seconds, before coming back on. He thought they would go away, but they were still there.

Ciel tapped the first one, the one he'd ignored on the route to Ecruteak. The speakers must have just gone bad, but after a few seconds of static, the audio faded in.

" _Hey,"_ said his voice, _"just calling to check up on you. I said I'd be trying my best, so it'd be pretty bad if I didn't call at least, right?"_

Ciel sat through the five seconds of silence in the message. His father couldn't think of what to say even when they weren't face-to-face. But he was still saying something. The thought to call never crossed Ciel's mind.

" _Your Mom and I had our first actual double battle yesterday. Crazy, right? We signed up to be a pair of Gym Leaders, but it took us months to get it cleared. We'd just been alternating until then."_

"That's cool," said Ciel to the message, before catching himself.

More silence, then the voice continued. There was an underlying exhaustion behind it. _"You should be heading to Ecruteak now, right? You can go two ways to continue the Gym Challenge there. Jasmine's the best in the region—I still haven't beaten her despite my Houndoom's typing, so I'd recommend saving that for last. But, I mean, I understand if you… don't want to come to Mahogany first. That's okay."_

Ciel started crying again. Crying at his mistake. Crying at how little he tried to reconnect. Crying just because.

" _Just be safe, alright? I hope that… when you come to face us in Mahogany, you're going to be the best that you can be. I've always been better at working things out in battle. Not a great speaker, you know me. So, give me a good one."_

The message ended. There were fourteen others, but Ciel didn't need want to hear them. His feet carried him off the couch, stumbling through Chuck's house until he found the front door. Someone had left a short while ago and he needed to find them.

Ciel dragged himself across the sand to the Gym. Where else would he be? There was nothing else in the town.

He threw open the door to the Mahogany Gym and saw the martial artist standing before a waterfall. He had no time to digest his surroundings as he pulled himself to the Gym Leader, through a pool of water, and issued his demand.

"Train me."

"What?" asked Chuck.

"Train me. I need to learn how to protect my Pokémon. I need to be stronger. I need to be better," said Ciel.

Chuck was tired. Neither of them was in good shape to have a conversation, let alone a decision like this. "Look, kid. I feel like I know what happened, but I'm not a battle teacher. I'm barely a martial arts teacher anymore."

"Then teach me martial arts!" exclaimed Ciel. "Something, anything so I won't make the same mistake again. _Please_."

Chuck turned towards the waterfall. The flow, surprisingly, was silent. There was no noise aside from their soft breathing and the distant ocean. The man sighed.

"I don't think it's gonna help. You have to really want to make a change, to try, to not be satisfied with the status quo, or else it's not gonna change. It's easier to give up than to keep going."

"I have to," said Ciel. "I _have_ to."

Chuck muttered. "I wasn't talking to you."

He turned around and presented himself. Where once stood a proud martial artist now laid an out-of-shape old man with an unkempt moustache. The silent waterfall behind him felt more powerful.

Ciel stood in wait. The man closed his eyes and breathed in, then out, then in, then out. In, out, in out. Seconds ticked away.

"Okay," said Chuck. He tightened the black belt around his waist. "Take off your shoes. We start now."

* * *

 **When writing this chapter, I found a fanfiction that seemed interesting and immediately decided my dialogue wasn't as good as it could be and needed to be filled out to make the world feel more real. I'd like to call this "skillful meandering". So, this chapter was my attempt at changing my dialogue for the better. I don't know yet how successful I was, but this chapter was a rare instance of me liking my work on the first read.**

 **I watched Spider-Man: Far From Home a few days before this was published. I really enjoyed the film, specifically the MCU recognizing when an actor doesn't need to be recast. Anyone who's seen it will know what I'm talking about.**

 **The next chapter's title and publish date are subject to change. This would normally go live on July 19th, but I'll be going on vacation beginning the 12th and may not be writing actively.**

 **Keep out for updates on my profile and check back on July 27th for Chapter 21: Closer. Thanks for reading.**


	21. Closer

**This story is co-developed and edited by Titan127.**

 **Disclaimer: Pokémon is a registered property of Nintendo, the Pokémon Company, and GameFreak. This work respectfully uses the world and characters of the Pokémon series, with no intent of harm on the original creators. Please support the official releases of the Pokémon franchise.**

 **IMPORTANT: Chapter 20 mistakenly was a duplicate Chapter 19 for some time. If you missed the last chapter as a result, it should be back to normal.**

 **Chapter 21: Closer (8,654 words)**

* * *

 **5:30 - Wake-up Call**

Chuck would knock roughly at the door of the guest room and shout for Ciel to wake up despite him not sleeping enough the night before. It was _loud_. Ciel didn't know how his wife slept through it. After a short jog to the Gym across uneven sand, where he tried in vain to pull himself awake, Chuck would open the Gym and switch on the lights.

 **5:40 - Stretches**

The Gym Leader mandated they do stretch sessions. He said it was just to get his muscles moving, but Ciel doubted that while contorting his torso to reach behind his legs. As he held his head as close as possible to the ground, Ciel violently shook under the stress, red-faced. Were stretches supposed to be this hard?

 **6:00 - Basic Training**

Ciel knew nothing about martial arts. After all, with a Pokémon by his side, why would he ever need to learn to fight? The hike around the region was exercise enough and he rarely thought about punching an opposing Trainer.

Chuck practiced _Wadō-ryū_ _karate_. The etymology was simple enough; "harmonious style," it meant, or maybe "way of harmony," but it didn't imply any specifics. The Gym Leader mentioned practicing other arts over his life, so his form deviated from the core, but it didn't matter to Ciel.

Each morning, they did basic punches and kicks.

"Right middle!" shouted Chuck. _Migi-chudan._

"Ha!" Ciel vocalized, rotating his body into a mid-level strike. He thought the exclamation was excessive, but the expert insisted.

"Left-upper!" shouted Chuck. _Hidari-jodan._

"Ha!" Ciel repeated, doing the mirrored motion. It was wearing him out already, and he had no idea if he was doing it right.

Ciel thought about the Pokémon that he abandoned in Olivine. Apparently, Chuck could see this, because every time it happened, a bellowing shout would draw him back to attention. He couldn't be distracted, Chuck said.

Each punch on each height level was practiced exactly 100 times. Then they moved onto kicks and followed the same routine. Chuck tore into him for his form on kicks, but by the second, third, or maybe fiftieth, he was figuring it out. Maybe.

 **7:00 - Kata**

Ciel had seen these more elaborate movements somewhere—maybe a street performance or an online video—and thought they were a dance. He supposed, in a way, they were, so with no other frame of reference, he tried his best to treat them as such.

First, Chuck would show a segment of each choreographed movement, always beginning by holding his arms down in front of his body. Spin on the heel of the foot, transition to the ball of the foot and mid-level strike. One arm up in a blocking motion, the opposite shoulder back, fist curled at the waist.

Ciel followed as best he could, and Chuck was more than happy to slow down and explain the movement as many times as he needed. Still, it humiliated him to be such an amateur, especially when he lost his balance and slammed into the matted floor.

"Get up," commanded Chuck. "You can't stay down there all day.

"Sorry, sorry," he said.

"Sorry what?" his teacher asked in an indignant tone.

Ciel sighed to himself and tried to wipe away his self-disappointment in the split-second timeframe of a blink. He said, "Sorry, _sensei."_

 **10:00 - Meditation**

After continually trying, to various of degrees of success, to perform the basic _kata_ , Chuck would insist they meditate. Meaning, they'd sit in one spot. For _two hours._

As the rushing tide of the waterfall overcame him, he tried as instructed to clear him mind, to be at peace with himself. The raging flow succeeded at emptying his head but only because it was pouring in so much physical sensation that it flushed anything else out. He couldn't focus on his mind, nor anything besides the isolated roar around him.

The time didn't pass quickly. He fought the encompassing wetness and the urge to raise his voice and ask what they were doing, but a cursory glance at Chuck revealed a state of true reflection. Ciel squinted his eyes closed and rubbed the water from his ears before returning to his business. It was about as enriching as TV static.

 **Afternoon - Free Time**

That had been their schedule for the past few days, and in the afternoon, with nowhere else to go, Ciel would prop himself up against the wall of the Gym and waste the day away. Occasionally, one or two—three if they were lucky—prospective Trainers would enter and stake their claim. The dojo was meant to house disciples that wore down a challenger before they reached Chuck, judging by the mats. He wondered if their absence was a choice or a consequence.

Ciel looked down at himself. A borrowed pair of training pants that barely reached his mid-calves contrasted against haphazard layers of multiple robes. They didn't go together, and given Chuck practicing multiple styles, they probably weren't supposed to. None of it fit him either, so he felt swallowed by the disintegrating hand-me-downs.

Rather than sit around and do nothing, Ciel pulled out a book Aki lent him about various martial arts practices, including those performed alongside Pokémon. He was halfway through already and it was a good way to spend the hours. As he read, he tapped his finger on the spine.

A resounding blow from Chuck's Poliwrath sent a challenging Hitmonlee into the mat. The nearly explosive punch connecting roused Ciel from a short doze just in time to see the challenger running crying from the Gym. She looked younger than him, barely out of high school, but the crushing defeat caused him to flinch.

Chuck walked by and sunk along the wall, sitting next to him. The man was sweaty and not all that good smelling, not helped by his lack of a shirt. The man said, "What are you doing?"

"I'm reading this book. Your wife said I could have it, so I've been trying to learn more about your karate style," Ciel said, holding it up.

"What? That's garbage," the man said. The judgement made Ciel's heart skip. "You can't learn anything from a book that you can't with real-life experience."

Dejected, he started to put the book away. The man noticed his slumped body language and tried to backpedal. "Hey, hey, I didn't mean it like that. Seriously. Did you learn how to battle from a book?"

"Yeah. I guess," Ciel replied, softly.

Chuck took in a deep breath, then sighed. "Well… okay. Keep reading. Sorry. If you learn a different way, sure. Sure."

Ciel knew they didn't understand each other, causing an extended silence between the two. He re-opened the book and continued, but Chuck didn't leave. They sat there in solidarity for the better part of an hour.

Eventually, Ciel couldn't take it and cut the tension. He asked, disrupting the silent Gym, "Why am I doing this?"

"Huh? Why you askin' me?"

A mentor figure he was not. Chuck maintained his ethos during their training proper, including insisting he be called _sensei_ , but most of the time, he was just a worn-out, middle-aged man. Just like his dad. "I… I don't know why I asked you to train me, I just needed _something_ to assure myself. I don't think it's working."

"You ever gonna explain to me what happened?"

It was CIel's turn to sigh. Chuck didn't press when he took ten seconds. He still didn't press when he took another twenty. The silence, that time, was understanding.

"One of my Pokémon got hurt. He's in Olivine and my partner is there with him. I let him get hurt in a battle and I left him there. I screwed up."

Chuck thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yep. You did. You screwed up."

That broke him. Ciel dropped his head to the floor, his world falling apart. He'd been trying to distract himself, and hoped he'd be offered some uplifting advice. He's a naive idiot if he thought he'd get sympathy for it. He's a terrible Trainer. This was the first time someone told him so.

"The basic concept of _karate_ , any of it, is that it's not just fighting. It's a philosophy that you follow to drive you to be the best person you can be. For _Wadō-ryū_ , that sometimes means you need to yield. To know your limits." Chuck put a hand on Ciel's shoulder. "When you really get into it, a lot of the actions involve keeping yourself out of danger or holding back when you know you can't win. You said you let your Pokémon get hurt. Okay, big deal. But what made it different from all the other times?"

"I don't know. I don't know. I don't know." Ciel, still staring at the floor, shook his head, almost violently. "I thought I was good enough. I beat three other Gym Leaders, so why-"

Chuck cut him off. "Well, for one, I watched your battle against Whitney. You won by technicality, since she only had two Pokémon."

Right. The odds were in his favor. Against Bugsy and Morty, he similarly had a massive advantage by relying on Type matchups, if he wasn't banking on Raven's brute strength and longer training. Falkner just _gave_ him the badge. None of them were really wins, were they?

"It sounds to me," said Chuck, "that you equated victory with talent. It's not so simple. If you went into the battle knowing you might lose, your Pokémon probably wouldn't have gotten hurt. You didn't know your limit and tried to push yourself and your Pokemon too far."

"My Pokémon might be dead," said Ciel. His fists curled.

"But you don't know that for sure?"

"No, I—"

Chuck cut him off a second time. "If your Pokémon was dead, the League would let you know. Your Trainer ID and your phone number are the same, normally. They wouldn't hesitate to make that call, and if they haven't, well…"

Ciel examined his broken Poké GEAR. He slipped it off his wrist and slid it away on the floor, putting his head into his hands, trying desperately to just breathe. Breathe. Okay. He took Chuck's words to heart, allowing him to raise his head.

"Why'd you leave him in Olivine?" Chuck asked. It wasn't confrontational but intrigued.

Ciel didn't want to say it. It burned his throat as the words left his lips. "I can't face him."

"Then that's what we're working on. We can't change your mistake, and let's face it, you made a mistake. But we can get you ready to face it, even if you aren't ready now."

Chuck stood from the wall, turned to him, and offered a hand. Sweaty, hairy, and dirty, but it was all he had. He took it and shakily pulled himself to his feet. A smile crossed Chuck's face.

"Head back and rest for the day. Make to bring your Pokémon tomorrow, whichever ones you have. We're gonna try something different."

* * *

Kori sat up to her knees in paperwork inside the Gym office. She personally didn't understand why Pryce had the Gym designed like a freezer—she considered herself an Ice-type specialist, but it was too much. A steaming cup of tea on hand wasn't enough, as even the generous 16 degrees in the office forced her to wear her signature coat, which made it a little inconvenient to do administrative work. Everything was pushed around and off the desk by the puffy material.

Invoices for liquid nitrogen, various maintenance bills, at least two suits filed by idiots who signed a waiver but still slipped on the ice. Pryce warned her about this. The League funded nearly everything, yet the Leader was expected to do the paperwork. She'd hire a secretary, but they weren't paid enough, especially since neither of them received a full salary due to the double Gym Leader situation.

She did all of this while surrounded by seven clamoring voices trying to marathon the itinerary. None of them wanted to be there, yet all of them were holding them up in their own way. Kori occasionally glanced at the eight-paneled window on her open laptop before returning to filing bills.

"Fauder, are you paying attention?" asked the Flying-type leader.

"Yes, Hayato. Please continue, don't let me stop you," she chided without looking up. Her voice could barely be heard among bickering between Whitney and Clair.

"Please address me by my family name. It's respectful to do so," said Falkner.

Before she could respond, Morty cut her off, mocking, "Please. I live in a city full of stiffs and I don't have a stick up my ass like you do. Oh, look at me! I'm _Falkner,_ son of _Falkner,_ son of _Falkner._ I have a temple-sized _bird cage_!"

Peeking at the screen, Morty looked worse for the wear—his hair hadn't been washed in days, she could tell, and the bags under his eyes were easier to see than his features. Hoping the attack would buy her some time, she signed here, then there, then here, then here...

"A cultural judgement is meaningless coming from a greaser who shops at a counterculture supermarket," Falkner shot back.

Morty shoved some food in his mouth on-screen. He spoke, chewing, "You don't know what fashion is. Step out of your gi every once in a while."

"Ladies, gentlemen, we've got more things to do, so let's please get on it to go home. Next on the list is maintenance requests," announced Jasmine, earning basic attention from the other Gym Leaders. The young-looking girl couldn't raise her voice if she tried, but she didn't visibly regret taking up the managing role when no one else would. She tapped the schedule paper impatiently. "Any machinery you need fixed that was out-of-budget for the normal weekly reports?"

"Uhh, I think my field generators are shot," said Whitney. "I hadn't turned 'em on in a while, 'cause I don't get too many flashy battles, and now the dynamo isn't spinning. And I had nothing to do with it, so put that on the record."

No one else had a request. The awkward silence created by Chuck—it was his turn to do record-keeping and no one would dare volunteer for it—writing down Whitney's statement stunned the company. The only audible sound was Chuck's muddled grumbling. Someone else took the opportunity to hop off the train.

"Where's your husband?" pried a cocky, beautiful-yet-irritating voice. She couldn't mean anyone else. "As you are aware, he's a Gym Leader too and is required to attend every meeting. It's an online affair, so he has no excuse. I might have to talk to someone on the Plateau about it."

Kori hated Clair. Really. A screen and 450 kilometers between them was bad enough. Face-to-face was _unbearable._ The Blackthorn Gym Leader continued, "I shouldn't expect much from newbies like you, I guess."

"Wasn't it your idea to call an early session to get it out of the way? I'm sorry if my husband, with his real-life priorities, decided not to stay after today. Your cousin or the Viceroy or the international couriers will tell you to shove it next time you decide to break schedule."

"Why, you!" she puffed. The red in her cheeks was a pleasing contrast against her blue outfit.

Chuck was writing all of this down, still huddled over now a dozen report forms, hand furiously scribbling. They weren't allowed to leave anything out. Kori thought the immature bickering, potshots, and insults would get them reprimanded by the League, but she quickly came to the conclusion that this was what Gym Leaders _do_. Morty and Falkner had devolved to cursing at each other in the background, while Clair hadn't yet recovered from her red-faced tantrum.

"Guys!" tried an exasperated Jasmine. "Seriously. Reputation report time. You know the deal: give us a summary of public opinion on you or the Gym facilities for the record.

"Why do we have to do this?" asked Whitney. "I feel like I shoulda asked before, but it feels so stupid. How do I even answer that? The guys think I'm hot, the girls are jealous, otherwise people don't talk about me much. I think they liked the other guy more."

Bugsy brushed his bushy hair from his eyes and spoke up for the first time in a while. "It's part of our yearlies. I've heard that the League docks points on our evaluations if they think we've gotten on the cities' bad sides. We're their faces and communicators, so I guess it makes sense, but there's only so much we can do.

"That's a drag. It's not like I can quit school to go canvassing around the neighborhood. Like, what else am I supposed to do to make people like me?"

"For one," announced Clair, "you could stop embarrassing the League by acting like a spoiled brat. I saw that meltdown you had at the Showdown."

Whitney shoved her face into the camera suddenly so only one eye was visible. Though tailored with extensive eyeliner, extensions, and even some glitter, the sharp fury her gaze contorted into stared the other Gym Leaders back. "You think _I'm_ a spoiled brat? You're like a bunch of four-year-olds wrapped in _spandex_!"

"Charles, write that down, write that down. I need it when I file a formal complaint against this child," announced Clair. Chuck grumbled something under his breath.

"If we're up to keep working, Mahogany had been nice to Daku and I," Kori explained once the group had broken enough. She took a drink of herbal tea. "A few randoms sat in on a match and complimented us on our double battle dynamic, but I think it'll be a while before they really accept the change. I swear, every conversation I've had with someone had started with, 'you're the new Pryce.' It kind of hurts."

"The local Shriners still hate me. My challengers aren't old farts and think I'm pretty cool," said Morty. She assumed his sly smile and Falkner's stink-eye were aimed at each other.

Bugsy clapped in excitement. "I got a standing ovation at a local GCO conference for helping with some of their repopulation efforts. I think that constitutes a good rating."

"GCO?" asked Whitney.

"The Global Conservation Organization," Jasmine explained. "It's a non-profit, but it's basically an arm of the International League. They're trying to stabilize Slowpoke Well, right?"

Bugsy nodded, but the screen froze. The audio returned three seconds before the video. He said, with a distracting delay, "We're doing our best, but Slowpoke mating is finicky. It's probably going to fall through, and we'll move them to a nearby sanctuary, but here's to hoping."

They were nearing the end, which is why the whole party moved faster. They rushed, with a few more interruptions, through the remaining items on schedule. Kori herself had checked out and offered one-word answers to most everything while ripping through her own personal items. She shouldn't have stopped paying attention, but no one could fault her for it.

Volunteer opportunities, raise requests, upgrade requests, research briefings, they pushed through the end of the meeting with a surprising haste. No thank you, no, no, that's cool. The League rarely checked the meeting records anyway, so her answers were sufficient.

"The final item, of course, is your battle record. Everyone announce clearly your monthly performance. I'm at… 371, 20," announced Jasmine after checking something offscreen. The best in the Region, with a disposition that belied her ferocity.

Chuck announced his own at he wrote, "23 and 12."

"110 and 13," said a confident Clair.

"344, 80." Falkner. "99 and 85." Bugsy. "250 and, like, 190 something? 194, maybe?" Whitney, obviously. Morty half-heartedly said "68%," but didn't give specifics.

That only left Kori and her husband. They counted their record together. She said, "78 and 70."

It was barely over fifty percent. Below that, they'd be placed on probation. It had been a stressful couple of months teetering so close to losing the position.

It could have been feeling the onset of empty-nest syndrome. It could have been trouble adjusting to the new job. She didn't want to make excuses for herself, however, so she swallowed her pride and the stares everyone else shot her way. The expression of sympathy from Bugsy caught her attention. She held onto that above everything.

"I think it's meeting adjourned," said Jasmine once Chuck finally stopped writing, slammed the pen down, and tilted backwards in his chair. "Good night, all of you."

Her panel went black and three others followed. Clair and Whitney blew raspberries at each other as substitute goodbyes before they cut video feed as well. She was about to shut her laptop and be done for the day, but Chuck's window was still active. She waited.

He leaned upright in his chair. The man asked "Hey, Kori, do you, uhh, have my number?"

"Of course. What's the matter?" she asked with raised brows.

"Just, uhh, I might be calling you over the next few… weeks. Something came up over here and I think you might want to hear about it."

She questioned the lack of specifics, but she noticed he was still writing. She nodded.

"I'll keep in touch," said Kori. The screen went black and she shut the computer closed.

Now it was her turn to succumb to her chair. She felt herself swallowed by her coat, sinking into the seat beneath her. And here she was expecting to be able to forget about the others for the next month until that inevitable time came again, but she reminded herself that she was part of a bigger picture now. Mounds of paperwork were still left on her desk. She resigned herself to working diligently through the rest.

However, she had barely a moment sign another document before the door opened. "Mom! You've got a challenger!"

Spinning around in her chair with a confused expression, Kori sighed. "It's two hours past closing. The door was supposed to be locked."

"Well, I did lock it!" her daughter exclaimed. She was wearing three jackets and couldn't rest her arms parallel to her torso, but she didn't seem to regret offering to help clean the Gym. "But I was cold. He was already here when I came back inside."

"Fine, fine," said Kori, exasperated. "Hold down the fort in here while I go deal, alright kiddo?"

Laina saluted. "Yes, ma'am! Consider the fort held!"

She brushed some of her daughter's hair out of her eyes, and the combination of the fibers and the cold made her sneeze. Kori laughed, patted her on the head, and said, "let's hope you holding the fort doesn't leave me with a nasty cold next week."

After shutting the office door, Kori tapped a button combination on a nearby number pad partially obscured by icicles. With a rumble, a panel slid out to seal the door, preventing access by any would-be challengers. It also completed the room's aesthetic with a snowflake sigil adorning the makeshift wall. She sat on the ground to remove the bottoms of her shoes. The extended rubber soles hid skates within.

She became _herself._ A beautiful snow spirit drifted across the ice, white robes trailing behind her, blending her into the ice and snow. Maybe Pryce was onto something. The freezing temperature in the Gym's main area melted her into the frost. It was clear, it was bliss.

Kori shot forward, passing through the arches separating each room of the Gym. The building was laid out as a gauntlet, each successive room being more complicated than the last and having an individual exit door if the cold overwhelmed the Trainers within. She kicked it up a notch. The speed was exhilarating.

Bursting into the front room, she pulled around and slid to a stop, kicking up a flurry as she did so. She announced her presence.

"This Gym is closed for the day!" shouted Kori in an assertive voice. "Pack it up and come back tomorrow, and if you'd like I can reserve you a battle at a specified time!"

The challenger at the door was not one person but two. Both flinched under the authority she commanded. It didn't deter them, however.

The boy spoke up, raising his hand in a hesitant wave. "H-hi Mrs. Fauder."

Having only met him in a large group at the Showdown, Kori wasn't sure what she expected from Brent Custos. Certainly, she envisioned a role model, the kind of person framed with confidence and infectiously inspiring. Looking at him now, she wondered if he always looked so plain.

He wore a simple green jacket over a white shirt. If not for the full-arm cast strapped to him, she might not have been able to pick him out from a crowd.

"You're my son's friend, right?" she asked while she slipped her shoe covers back on.

"Yep, that's me. I was afraid you wouldn't remember," he said.

"What do you need? My statement still stands, we're supposed to be closed."

"Oh! Sorry. I didn't see a sign outside or anything, so I thought…. nevermind. We'll be going!" Kori got whiplash from the sudden turnaround.

"No, no, come back. It's my discretion what I do outside of normal operating hours. I could spare a battle."

"Well, I have a specific request. Could we slow down, a tad?" he asked.

"Slow down? If you're asking me to go easy on you, then—"

"No, no, nononono, I mean… well, I don't know what I mean." He motioned to his cast, and said, "I'm not in the best shape right now and I'm not sure I or my Pokémon can go nonstop."

Kori, still unimpressed, watched as the boy awkwardly shuffled his companion in front of him, a girl wearing a black and gold floral jacket. Her more proper disposition hid behind an aura of nervousness. Both were shivering messes.

Brent continued, "More importantly, my, uhh, friend Zuki here is a new Trainer. I don't think she's even seen a sanctioned battle before."

"I'd like to watch your Gym Battle, ma'am, to try to make sense of it. I want to learn how Trainers command their Pokémon," said the girl. She bowed deeply.

On one hand, Kori wanted to go home. She really wanted to go home after a long and stressful day. However, their display just barely won her over. Maybe it was the amusing hesitation around the word friend, or her pitying his broken arm, or just that she felt benevolent towards someone her son trusted. She withdrew a capsule, an Ultra Ball, from the sleeve of her coat.

Brent did the same, and they were ready. The girl, Zuki, took her place at the sidelines. They were still shivering and wouldn't last long, and without a referee, she'd need to finish it quickly, cleanly, and effectively. She grinned. That's what she was made for.

* * *

As Crystal stepped from the guest room, she wished Silver goodnight, receiving hardly anything in return. She lingered in the dark room's doorway for a moment and tapped her fingers nervously on the doorknob. She eyed the Poke Ball on the dresser. Leaving it there made her nervous.

He muttered, half-asleep, from under the covers. She couldn't make it out aside from it being two words. It could have been "fuck off," knowing him, but she liked to think it was something appreciative. Crystal pulled the door closed.

In the hallway, the Olivine Pokémon Center rang empty. The city slept early, after all the industrial workers returned home for the day. Not much of a night life, and surprisingly few Trainers, probably due to the city being further towards the edge of the region. She could only imagine Cianwood was even quieter.

All of Gold's Pokémon were active when she returned to the table. Marigold, his Bayleef, repeatedly bounced upwards and caught her own Poké Ball with her head leaf. Crown, his Togepi, suddenly jumped from the table. The Grass-type awkwardly caught her teammate's rounded body and began trying to juggle both Crown and the capsule. She was failing, but the baby Pokémon was having fun being tossed into the air.

Gold's other party members slept. His newest, a Doduo named Trinity, stood upright on two powerful taloned legs, its double necks curled against itself. The subtle movement of the two heads rising and falling on the creature's own torso didn't bother it. She'd questioned the name, but Gold assured her that the species had three heads. Eventually.

Her wandering eyes landed last on Slowpoke. It never received a name. It too was dozing on the floor of the Pokémon center atop a hastily assembled mass of pillows. Gold stared at it. He stared and stared and stared.

"Well, Silver decided to turn in early," she announced as she pulled out the opposite chair and sat down. "He seems exhausted. Emotionally, I mean. Today's been kind of a rollercoaster for him."

"Huh," said Gold halfheartedly. He hadn't removed his eyes from the Slowpoke. "You sure any of his Pokémon even want to work with him again?"

The psychic line was tangible, Crystal thought. She pulled her attention away. "I couldn't say. Professor Elm said he'd had a few professional caregivers… therapists, essentially, try to rehabilitate Croconaw. He was afraid it would never trust another human again."

"If it doesn't?" asked Gold.

"Then we tried our best, I guess." She rubbed her arm. "We're trying to help two opposing parties at once. I never said I expected it to work out perfectly."

Marigold, who had by then dropped both Crown and her Poké Ball, nudged against her Trainer's hand. A simple gesture—one Gold would usually be all-in to reciprocate—that he met with a simple pat on the head, leaf, whatever. She'd left Crown upside-down on the tile, forcing Gold to stand from his seat and flip the Togepi over. The baby Pokémon began to run in circles, undeterred by such a minor setback.

Crystal leaned back in her chair. They'd start Silver's battle training tomorrow. Admittedly, she didn't fully believe how ready Silver was. He'd been a criminal for nearly all his life and wouldn't be shedding his temper or inferiority complex anytime soon. He was like a timebomb that had already gone off at least twice. But there was something about his reluctant persistence that she respected. Was it a willingness to change? Maybe. She was willing to believe that, after what Gold had said…

Speaking of, she decided to say something. Placing both hands on the table, she leveled at her friend. "Spill. You haven't cracked a joke, you haven't done something stupid, and you're being awfully sentimental."

Gold paused. "Sometimes, when I look at him, some thoughts swirl around and I don't really know what to do."

"And that's why you haven't used him in battle much," she said.

Gold nodded. "I just don't feel right about our journey sometimes."

"Anxiety?" she asked.

"Nah."

"Fear?"

"I have no idea what that is."

"Are you sad?" she pressed.

Gold flicked an accusatory finger in her direction. He said, "I haven't cried since that creep Eiji Moto stole my magnet train playset in preschool. I don't do sad. I'm a _big boy._ "

Her friend flashed his toothiest smile, washing away anything in his head. It's what he always did. She couldn't remember the last time he was deterred by anything—in that regard, he was just like Crown. He was a hopeful child happy for life itself. Despite that, the smile didn't last, and he resumed his staring.

"I think it's called… app— apprension? Apprentation?" Gold trailed off, rolling the word over in his mouth. She wished she had a drink to nurse. "The one where you're just not sure it's the right choice. Are we really going to do this?"

Crystal understood. "The Rockets."

"I get that you don't want the police involved because Silver might get arrested, like how you fudged his name when we talked to the cops in Goldenrod. But, we're just kids."

"The person who brought them down last time was also a kid," she said.

"But this guy," he pointed to the Slowpoke, ignoring her, "has nobody anymore after what happened in Azalea, so I want to do it for his sake. But all I want to do is yuck it up and travel and get caught up in relationship drama. And we're still helping a criminal and I technically stole an endangered Pokémon, but it's the right thing to do, I think. It's so hard."

She was going to ask him what he thought was right, but she was cut off by that smile slowly creeping back on him. He shot from his chair, jumped up and down on each foot, touched his hands to the ground in a full back arch, stood back, placed his hands on his hips, and smiled. The one or two patrons still awake in the Pokémon Center were staring.

"What just happened?" Crystal blinked a few times.

"I'm over it," said Gold.

"What?"

"I'm over it. I stopped thinking about it, so I don't care about it anymore," he said. The words rolling off his tongue were as confident as ever. That different person was gone. Gold stepped back through the doorway and closed the door behind him. "Whatever happens, happens. Not like I'm in charge here. I like you dragging me places because I don't have to make decisions."

Crystal sighed and placed her head in both hands, touching her elbows together. "You really are an idiot, aren't you?"

"Don't tell me you don't love me for it." He grinned.

"Do I?" asked Crystal.

"Do you?"

She hummed, ignored the question, stood, and began walking to her room. She waved behind herself, forcing Gold to scramble to chase after her. "It's too late and I can't keep up with you. Have fun, Gold."

He shouted in protest, chasing after her. "I want to hear you say it!"

She was set to crash for the night. However, the assignment board shifted names and caught her attention. Crystal turned to the oppressive neon glow, for only a moment, before moving on.

She stopped. She doubled back. Gold slammed into her, barreling the two of them into the ground in a shouting pile. He groaned as he laid over her, but she shot her eyes up again

"Why did you stop?" asked a disoriented Gold.

She coughed. "Look."

At the very bottom of the emergency list, two Pokémon were named to Room 38. A Quilava and an Absol. The former wouldn't normally have caught her eye, but in combination, it couldn't have been anyone else's, could it? Crystal pulled herself to a stand, rolling a groaning Gold off her.

She dragged him through the main doors of the emergency ward, leaving his Pokemon in the lobby temporarily, past nurses milling about. Twisting through the maze of hallways, they came upon the room in question, door locked but a window allowing them to peer through. Crystal's eyes widened.

Ciel's Quilava, Arden, lied amongst a mass of wired equipment in a medical tube. The stained bandages covering his midsection hid most of his body from sight. She moved to the side to see the other Pokémon curled into a ball on the floor beside the tube, breathing softly. It was only when Ethan recovered from being dragged off the floor that Crystal was pulled away from the glass.

"What are they doing here?" he asked.

"I don't know. Ciel must have gotten into some major trouble, but why would he leave his partner Pokémon too?"

A nurse approached them, having noticed them staring. "Do you two know the Trainer of these two Pokémon? He hasn't come back for them since they were interred, and we've been questioning everyone to find him."

"We're friends. How long have they been here?" Crystal asked.

"A few days. The Quilava is in bad shape. It'll be a week before he's even ready to walk around and maybe months before he's back to top condition. The other Pokémon hasn't left its side since." the nurse said. "Someone said his Trainer ran out of the Pokémon Center when they were pulled inside but no one has seen him since. Have you?"

Crystal shook her head and tried to wrap her head around the situation. She and Ciel had been keeping up through text ever since they left Goldenrod and she considered him a friend. He didn't strike her as the kind of person to abandon his Pokémon, and his partner was rarely seen separated from him. He was a good person; she was sure of that.

Pulling out her Poké GEAR, she checked their text log. No new messages in days. She sent one of her own, asking if he was okay. She waited a minute, maybe two, Ethan watching over her shoulder, before closing it and tossing it back in her bag.

She placed a hand on the glass again. Ciel's Quilava would walk away with a permanent scar and maybe worse permanent damage, sorrowfully reminding her of Maron's own scar from the well. She caught the attention of his Absol. Her name was Raven, right? She peered up at them in a moment of recognition, before putting her head back down.

Crystal whispered under her breath. "What exactly happened here?"

* * *

"Are you sad that you lost?" asked Zuki.

"Nah!" exclaimed Brent. He stretched his left arm over his head. "I kind of figured. It was more for you than it was for me, anyway."

'I thought Pokemon Trainers were supposed to be competitive types," she said.

He and Zuki walked through the streets of Mahogany the day after Brent's loss at the Gym.

It was a quiet little hamlet lacking in style, most of the ground simple dirt and sand with no mindful fixtures, but it made up for it in a simple rustic charm among the basic wooden houses. It reminded him of his place back in Cherrygrove. He wasn't taking the loss hard and enjoyed his day, though his partner couldn't say the same.

"Come on, buddy. Cheer up!" he said to Furret who was being hugged against his body. The big baby was too mopey to walk by himself, so Brent had his good arm under the Pokémon's front paws to carry him. "Next time we go back there, you're gonna be way stronger, then you, Gyarados, Eevee, and Tyrogue can take 'em down."

Furret continued to whine while Tyrogue, who personally opted to walk with them rather than stay in stasis, looked up at the sound of his name. He returned to practice-punching at nothing when all Brent had to offer was a soft smile.

The traded Pokémon preferred to train by itself, he found, but he couldn't tell if it was standoffishness, nervousness, or self-determination. Whatever the case, when the group stopped to spar, Tyrogue preferred to stand to the side and work the air. Sometimes, he'd attack wild Pokémon. Or another Trainers' walking Pokémon. Brent had to apologize a lot for that one.

The broken arm was doing better. It didn't burn much anymore, but it wasn't like he could use it for anything except carrying an extra item. The cast and sling supported it enough that it didn't bother him, though the cast itself itched. A lot. Unfortunately, he had no way to scratch through it, leaving the arm constantly irritated.

"Where are we going? Are we training today?" Zuki asked, with a bit of excitement. She had opened a small notebook, in which she had jotted down a few notes from yesterday's Gym Battle.

"I didn't really have anything on the brain besides just hanging out around town. Except, that is…"

He placed down Furret and held out one arm to the low-hanging sign of a beaten-up souvenir shop in the center of the village. Even larger than the shop's own sign, however, was a flashing, spiked panel that read "RAGE CANDY BARS SOLD HERE," arrows pointing down at the door. One window was boarded up and the other was missing.

Brent led the girl and his posse of Pokémon inside and announced his presence at the counter. It took a couple of minutes for a revolting old man to appear from the back room. The smell hit his nose before he could see the man, but Brent wasn't going to give up without what he came for.

"One Rage Candy Bar, please," he said, one elbow on the counter.

The man stared. He said nothing. Brent's eyes followed his arm as it moved below the countertop, slow as molasses. A small package was pushed across the counter.

The man drawled, "Five-hun'ed."

Brent happily slapped a coin on the counter and took the bar, feeling the man's suspicious gaze. He hesitated to ask, "You know any good places we could hang out around here?"

"Don't go to da lake," he said after a pause.

Zuki planted herself in front of him, and while she winced at the stench, she was ecstatic. She asked, excitedly, "There's a _lake_?"

"Yeah, the Lake of Rage. It's the biggest lake in the region," he said.

The man repeated, "Don't go to da lake."

"I've always wanted to see the water! There are only a few streams in Ecruteak. Let's go to the lake!" Zuki said after turning to him.

"Don't go to da lake," said the old man a third time.

"We're going to the lake. Thanks for the candy bar!" Brent shouted behind him as Zuki dragged him out the door. The man's bulging eyes never left them until they were out of sight.

Brent offered Zuki the bar once they got moving. She examined the green box and the black-wrapped candy within. She peeled the wrapper in half, exposinging the simple brown candy. Nothing suspicious it about it, she judged, because she tore off a sizable bite.

He grinned. He waited.

Her face exploded into fire. She was screaming. Barely able to speak through coughs, she gasped, " _What is this!? My entire mouth hurts! Ah!"_

Her foot-tapping fit sent him into laughter. She puffed in fury, exacerbating the red coloring in her face. She looked like ripe red Tamato berry. Retrieving a bottle of water from her bag, she swallowed the entire bottle in a single swig. When she pulled the bottle down from her face, there was a conflicting expression.

"This is… wow. After the spice, it tastes superb!" she said, red in her face slowly disappearing and her mouth smeared with chocolate. Then she pointed an angry finger at him. "But, you're not in the clear for not warning me. That was a dirty trick."

Still chuckling and snorting, Brent managed, "It was really funny, though."

"You jerk!" she said. "You're definitely taking me to the lake now. You don't have a choice."

He swooned. "Oh, woe is me! Kidnapped against my will."

They left the northern border of town shortly. It wasn't much of a walk, anyway. The Route Gate funneled them through the mountain that bridged Mount Mortar and the range leading to Blackthorn. Passing through the windowless, lit tunnel, they emerged on the other side in a strange, different world.

The entirety of Mahogany and its adjoining routes were on the leeward side of the mountains separating them from the Lake of Rage, so they'd been starved for greenery for a while—truth be told, it had made the hike upward rather boring. There was only a second between the rocky incline of the mountain and the world of ardent greens.

Trees rocketed fifty-some meters into the sky and even their earthen trunks had a leafy undertone. Upward branches twisted and curled like complex highways for wild Pokémon to dart across-the entire canopy rustled and swayed and buzzed and chirped with the life of creatures within. He saw Kakuna and Metapod bound to the trunks, Aipom swinging across branches, and even Spinarak casting their beautiful webs across gaps in the brush. One of the arachnid Pokémon hung down on its web to observe them as they passed by.

Brent accidentally ran into the only tree in the area that wasn't a tree. The angered Sudowoodo swiped its stony arms at him in defense before breaking for a nearby bush, disappearing. He scratched his head.

"It's breathtaking." Zuki's eyes filled with wonder, probably more so than his own. She hadn't seen beyond Ecruteak, so he could only imagine suddenly being thrown a new experience like this. She inhaled deeply, prompting him to do the same. Brent tasted the world through the air.

"Lucine needs to see this," she said. She pulled out her Poké Ball and released her Umbreon to the underbrush, who announced her presence with a growl. Once the red glow vanished, she explored the forest and sniffed hesitantly at some of the nearby plants. Brent release Eevee, who approached and exchanged greetings with his evolved relative. He'd let Gyarados out once they reached the water.

They and their Pokémon made their way through the forest towards a known, yet unknown, destination, following sparse signs. The troupe, rowdy and alive, cleared the path beneath the trees with their presence alone. Eevee rode on Lucine's back, the two rubbing their heads together.

Brent liked Pokémon battling. He really did. His Pokémon did as well, and they bounced off each other to succeed and grow. But, to him, this is what Pokémon training was really about. Just yucking it up while having a nice walk was more exciting than anything, though maybe it had to do with his choice of company.

"I'd just like to say," Zuki began, "that I'm glad you're with me. I've seen so much already, and I've been enjoying every moment of it. I can't even imagine how much more we have to see."

"Aww," he sounded, face flushed. He scratched his head. "I'm glad you're putting up with me trying to be a hero."

"As far as I'm concerned, you're already a hero," Zuki told him. "Just remember that. When you're not tricking me into eating dangerous spices, that is."

Eventually the trees began to thin alongside a negative grade towards the eventual water of the lake. Brent and Zuki didn't rush—they were too busy enjoying the simple afternoon hike. Nothing could disrupt the simple experience of the afternoon. Which is why, at first, they didn't notice the growing silence around them.

Furret extended its tail to perk vertically before them. His ears went crazy, angling in multiple directions, trying to pick up signals, but they were thinning out. It took Brent a moment to realize the situation, or lack thereof.

"Wait… what happened? Where'd all the Pokémon go?"

Zuki looked around the forest. The previously alive trees had since stopped moving, leaving the forest eerily frozen in the moment. A pin drop might have been audible around them. "This is odd."

"The signs said a midway gate was this way. Let's go check it out, just in case something bad happened."

They took off through the forest, racing the wall of trees to their destination. It was only getting quieter, and creepier, though Brent swore he heard a distant, resounding cry every couple of minutes. His heart beat faster than their footsteps. It shook him to think what might have scared all the Pokémon away.

Coming upon the small roofed structure, Brent and Zuki pulled to a quick stop when they noticed two men loitering in front of it. Clothed in black, with gray boots and gloves, they didn't look like they wanted to attract attention. Except, of course, for the bright red letter "R" emblazoned on their jackets. They moved with dangerous intent once they noticed the two Trainers, unfazed by their four active Pokémon

"Looks like you're in the wrong place at the wrong time," said one of the men while cracking his knuckles. His partner didn't say anything, but a flash released an Ekans that snapped its jaws in their direction.

Focusing his vision past them, Brent's eyes widened at a pile of unconscious—he hoped—bodies laid out inside the gate.

"Ekans, use Bite!" announced the second man.

It dove for Brent, and he wasn't fast enough to dodge. Its fangs sunk into the cast, only barely breaking his skin below but piercing enough to make him shout. Furret lunged at the creature and yanked it off, tossing it away by wrapping its own tail around the reptile and flinging it into a tree.

He didn't want to hurt them, but he also didn't want themselves to be hurt. Especially Zuki or his Pokémon. Fortunately, the choice was made for him as a small pink figure rushed past and delivered a devastating blow.

Tyrogue wasn't exceptionally tall. Therefore, the easiest place he could hit a human male was the worst place possible, and he drove the punch home. The man screamed in a high-pitched voice before falling over, dropping a Poké Ball he was about to release a combatant from.

"Lucine, use Dark Pulse!" called Zuki.

Eevee jumped from atop the larger Pokémon's back before it released a wave of Dark-type energy, exploding in the direction of the other attacker and his Pokémon. Caught off-guard, both fell to the ground, exhausted by the single attack.

Brent looked over his friend, who breathed heavily but nonetheless had a determined expression on her face, arm extended in command. He blinked, just for a moment, to make sure he knew who he was looking at. She turned to him. "They're the Rocket Syndicate. I recognize the symbol."

"I know. But what are they doing here?" he asked. Just like Ciel and Crystal had said. He didn't even know they were still around, but here they were.

They met each other's gazes and remembered the words of the man at the souvenir shop. Don't go to the lake. They said in unison, "The lake."

After briefly checking that the people inside the gate were still breathing, they took off even faster down the route. They went faster. Faster. It wasn't a long stretch until the lake, but they couldn't have been running fast enough. If the Rockets were involved, _something_ bad was happening. He could only guess it had something to do with that ever-present roar in the background.

Faster. Faster. Faster. Faster. He pushed his legs harder and Zuki was determined to keep up with him. They and their Pokémon held forward.

The trees stopped. Green of the forest opened to green of the plains, and before them was a massive body of water, spanning far enough that the land opposite them was barely visible in the distance. A roar knocked him off his feet.

Brent looked up to see a Gyarados, much like his own, but this one a brilliant red in color. It once again opened its mouth to bellow a cry. One of pain, he realized, as he noticed the multiple harpoons sticking from its body within the mass of netting it was entangled with. The red wasn't just its scales. It struggled and thrashed, unable to be pulled from the wires and rope.

Around the base of the lake, groups of Rockets huddled among their machines. Two structures held the nets in place that were cast over the Gyarados, pulled taut to prevent escape. Another was ripped straight from a ship—a harpoon gun used for fishing, or in this case, poaching.

His sprint broke even faster as he tried to intercept the machine and the criminals operating it. It loaded another. He couldn't be fast enough.

" _No!"_ he screamed.

The harpoon pierced the Pokémon's skull. The once-great behemoth crashed into the lake, dead in an instant.

* * *

 **On July 27th, 2018, I published the first chapter of this story. Now, one year, twenty-one chapters, and 143,000 words later, here we are. This is this story's first anniversary. I can hardly believe a year has already gone by, especially because I was so nervous up front about finally publishing something and locking myself into a (loose) upload schedule. Despite a few ups and downs, I'm still going strong and I don't plan on stopping any time soon.**

 **As for this chapter, it was a bit of a mess** _ **.**_ **It's longer than usual because I was behind on a few events in my outline, and at multiple points I skipped around and left scenes unfinished and broken. Still, I've grown to like the chapter a lot more while I was rereading to edit.**

 **I hope it's not painfully obvious that I know nothing about martial arts. Every piece of information about** _ **Wadō-ryū**_ **karate in this chapter was learned through online databases, sparse videos, and interviews with a few of my friends. Unfortunately, there's only so much I can wrap my head around without practicing the art myself, so apologies if anything here is inaccurate.**

 **Next chapter should primarily focus on Crystal, Gold, and Silver. Come back on August 12th for Chapter 22: Until You're Ready. Here's to another fun year of this story and beyond!**


	22. Until You're Ready

**This story is co-developed and edited by Titan127.**

 **Disclaimer: Pokémon is a registered property of Nintendo, the Pokémon Company, and GameFreak. This work respectfully uses the world and characters of the Pokémon series, with no intent of harm on the original creators. Please support the official releases of the Pokémon franchise.**

 **Chapter 22: Until You're Ready (8,814 words)**

* * *

The capsule clicked open. One became two, presenting the humming electro-mechanical apparatus within. A single neon red materialization beam formed from the connection of multiple smaller beams, and it arced out to touch the nearest flat surface. It scanned back and forth like a three-dimensional printer once it made contact and built a body in infinitesimal layers. All of this happened in a blink of an eye, and once the form was created, the main beam dissipated, the ball closed, and the Pokémon faded into being.

It was a physical impossibility, or at the very least a logical one.

Ciel examined the Poké Ball. It was the first time he ever bothered to look closely at the mechanism that brought Pokémon from the PC into physical space. How did it have the battery to do an unbelievably complex action? Observing the Poké Ball in his hand, turning it over and over, he couldn't spot an obvious power source. The only break from the round surface was the small informational panel below the hinge, which was difficult to see without a backlight, and a fingerprint scanner used to turn the capsule on. The Pokémon League, the Devon Corporation, whoever made them be geniuses, Ciel thought.

"Snap out of it, kid. We've got work to do," scolded Chuck, whose voice grappled Ciel back into reality.

"Yes, _sensei,"_ he said. He minimized the capsule, another confusing property of the item, and shoved it in his front pocket.

"This is weird," announced Chuck, who circled the coloring figure. The leftover red energy from the beam was slowly turning to green. "There's gotta be a story behind this."

Ciel's Scyther presented his wicked blades at a perceived enemy. It didn't intimidate Chuck, but obviously the Pokémon felt uncomfortable being sized-up by the other Trainer. His left shoulder, where there should have been a round pauldron complementing the right, was completely bear aside from lingering cracks that extended far across his chest. Other plates had fallen away on the left blade—one side of his body was completely unarmored.

"A friend and I saw him at the National Park north of Goldenrod. He got into a quarrel with a Heracross, took a punch, and I think it's permanent," Ciel explained. "I thought it would eventually heal, but nothing's regrown since then."

"It must be an older one. Not much we can do about it now, but it might be useful. Call her to attack."

"Scyther, attack with your left blade," commanded Ciel, intending for the creature to use the bare limb.

Due to a lack of training time, Ciel knew he didn't recognize many commends. Still, he let loose, but in misunderstanding used his right, heavy blade. The powerful slice created a draft as it split the stagnant air, trailing visible streams with the follow-through. The air shifted around the entire Gym.

Chuck nodded, nodded, nodded. Ciel took furious physical notes, but the experienced Trainer seemed to calculate in his head. Ciel knew what the man expected and ordered a second attack.

"Use your left blade." He stood back.

It happened in a blink. As if tearing through the molecules itself, Ciel's Scyther cleaved the air in two. He didn't see it happen, but he could feel the effect blow past him. He shielded his eyes. When the field cleared, Scyther spread his wings and beat in triumph. Underneath the defensive gestures, Ciel guessed that the creature enjoyed having a receptive audience.

"If I remember, Scyther are naturally fast Pokémon, but as they grow, they gain plates that encumber them. It's better for adults to be defensive to protect the nest, while the young are lighter and faster to gather materials and food, but unfortunately their exoskeleton stops growing once they mature. People use them often against me due to the Type matchup, so I've seen a few over the years." Chuck lowered himself to the matted floor and crossed his legs. Ciel, unsure what he was planning, took a seat himself and continued scribbling in his journal. The imbalance in Scyther's weight might be useful in the future, but he wasn't exactly sure yet. The armored side could build more momentum than the opposite, so maybe...

"Poliwrath, mind gettin' in here? We want to test out this guy's speed," called Chuck to his partner. The Pokémon stepped out from under the waterfall and lumbered past Ciel into the ring. It barely came up to his chest, but the sheer muscle of the amphibious creature gave it an unrivaled presence. It was mostly blue, with a light-colored swirl evident behind the skin of its front and white around its would-be fists.

Chuck called out for them to begin and the two launched into an unruly brawl. Scyther's untrained, savage slashes were met with skillful parries and counterattacks from his opponent. However, Poliwrath played cautiously to avoid being cut apart—no matter the skill gap, it was fighting hand-to-hand versus an armed opponent.

His _sensei_ decided to focus some days on training Pokémon instead of themselves, usually on scheduled off-days for their karate routine. Some of the Gym Leader's team worked as sparring partners if necessary, but otherwise Ciel's Pokemon rotated amongst themselves to test their mettle.

Clovis's talon scraped against Hector's shell. Ciel plugged his ears in response to the splitting sounds. Hector couldn't keep up with his airborne teammate and took constant minor scratches—most reflected harmlessly off the rock, but a rare few of Clovis's attacks penetrated between overlapping plates. The Rock-type yelped, or at least, that was the best way he could describe the reptilian, gargling shout. The Pidgeotto returned to the sky and flared his wings in triumph.

An unexpected retaliation met him head-on. Hector clamped its maw around one of its side plates and _tore it out._ Improvising his own Rock Throw, he hurled it at Clovis and knocked the hasty celebration—and Clovis with it—out of the air. The bird struggled to stand as it laid prostrate on the mat.

Something came to him. He said, "Chuck, I thought you said you weren't a Pokémon teacher. Why start now?"

He looked over to Chuck to see closed eyes, slow breathing. He was meditating. That complete sense of peace, it was unmistakable. Ciel crossed his own legs and tried to follow, but as usual, he couldn't find the same clearness, even without the waterfall to distract him. He'd do this randomly and completely unannounced, leaving Ciel no choice but to sit and wait. Tossing his notebook aside, Ciel sat by himself and observed Scyther as it fought.

Scyther.

He'd never even given him a nickname, he realized. All his other Pokémon he'd done so within a few days. He was too distracted training his other Pokémon and never got around to it, which had led to…

Ciel threw his head into his hands. Arden's image stained the walls inside his head and whenever he let his mind wander, they were the first thing it saw. He couldn't stop thinking about it. Arden wouldn't trust him again no matter how much he begged, and his partner would hate him for abandoning them both. He needed to go back, but he wasn't ready. Chuck has assured him it was alright. Ciel knew it wasn't.

The tears started to well up again. He rubbed at his eyes with the back of his hand and dampened his skin. As silently as he could, he sobbed to himself, unable to keep it down and ashamed of himself for his mistake and his weakness.

It hurt. He forgot what that really felt like.

A rough texture brushing against him made him open his eyes. Hector laid in front of him and rested his chin on his calf. It was too heavy. It hurt. But in comparison, he didn't want it to go away. Ciel rubbed the tip of the horn between his fingers and Hector closed his eyes.

Chuck stood over him. Ciel didn't know when he stopped meditating, but both he and the sparring Pokémon gathered around. The man extended his hand.

"Come on, kid. Let's go home early," offered Chuck, voice shaky himself.

Ciel has to run his eyes again. He said, "But we didn't do much today."

"Some days it's like that. You can take a day off every once in a while, no sweat. Better to do that sometimes than to… quit entirely." His shoulders dropped at that last phrase. Ciel studied him. The man tried to smile to cover it up. Eventually, Ciel took the hand and pulled himself up but a tear still welled at the corner of his left eye.

As they left the Gym, Ciel waited outside. The martial artist took it upon himself to leave food for their Pokémon—he had various stores of meat and vegetables courtesy of the League—who stayed in the Gym most of the time for lack of a better open space. They said nothing on the walk back.

Ciel sat with his legs curled up on the couch again in complete darkness. Once again unable to sleep, he checked his texts for the first time in days. Multiple messages lined up flooded Crystal's text log.

 _"Are you okay?! What happened?"_ it read. Attached was a picture inside the Olivine Pokémon Center of the only thing he didn't want to see. His stomach turned over. A few more texts from the following days showed gradually increasing concern.

Ciel stared at Crystal's messages for an hour before his fingers moved. He weakly typed a half-assed explanation first, that he was fine, that he was coming back to check, that she didn't need to worry. It disgusted him how ready he was to follow through with the lie, but he talked himself down from it. Somehow. He hit call instead.

Ring. Ring. Ring. Ciel hoped she wouldn't pick up.

" _Oh my goodness! Ciel! How are you doing?"_ an anxious voice pressed through the line, though the busted device didn't show video feed. She didn't wait for him to respond. _"We found your Quilava at Olivine. Where are you right now?"_

He couldn't speak

" _Ciel? Are you there? Hello? Is this a misdial?"_ At first concern, then desperation, then confusion as she considered it might be a mistake. He wanted her to think it was.

"Hey," he said. It was all he could manage.

" _Oh, you're there! What happened?"_ Her tone was forcefully compassionate, behind her words every emotion possible. He knew her well enough to know it was genuine, but he could barely respond to the oppressiveness of her voice. She said, _"Please, tell me what happened."_

So, he did, or rather he tried to. She listened intently to the entire story, her attention never wavering. He explained that he ended up in Olivine and was staying with the Gym Leader and that he was trying. He was trying.

" _Back to my first message. Are you okay?"_ she asked.

He shook his head. Again, then again. He was about to say something, but she took the silence as the meaning. "I think I get it, Ciel. I'll keep an eye on your Pokémon. Gold, Silver, and I will be in Olivine for… a while, so leave it to us."

He croaked an "okay" but nothing more.

" _Keep in touch, Ciel. And please don't hurt yourself," she said._

He ended the call and was asleep before he had time to recuperate.

Every day, he'd drag himself from bed and trail Chuck to the Gym. The lights came on and their routine launched. On off days, they trained Pokémon. Some days, the searing pain in his head immobilized him and Chuck would insist they go home. Before they left, he'd watch Chuck check himself on a scale, but the man would always walk away disappointed.

At nights, he was often too tired to do anything and headed straight to bed. Yet, despite his exhaustion, he couldn't sleep. He'd listen to one of the messages from his father. More had come in since he floated to Cianwood.

" _Hey, just calling to check up on you,"_ he'd begin. Then he'd talk about something mundane, like cooking a meal for Ciel's mother or going to the movies at the one-room theater in Mahogany or taking Laina to the schoolhouse each morning. Ciel might have shaken in his seat once hearing him near his sister, but now he had no reaction.

Sometimes at night he'd stare at Chuck's map. Occasionally, he had the privilege of witnessing a pin fall from place and tumble behind the cabinet the map hung above, though Ciel had never seen Chuck pick them back up. More and more fell as the days passed.

Eventually he'd drift to sleep, leaving his Poké GEAR open to waste battery. It would be dead when he woke back up to drag himself from bed and trail Chuck to the Gym.

The exercises got easier over time. They'd moved to more advanced _kata_ that he strung together with surprising efficiency. The puzzles pieces slotted together, and he saw for the first time how a punch to the chest connected to a sidestep and then to a grapple when the opponent chased his movement. He was beginning to keep up with his teacher, though he didn't give himself too much credit. Chuck was going easy.

On rare days when he didn't crash immediately, he'd sit with Chuck to watch television at the other end of the house. He'd assumed, with the couch, that he was staying in the living room, but the TV set and recliners marked another room as more livable space.

"What's on?" he asked.

A battle raged on-screen and he immediately recognized Steven Stone, Champion of Hoenn, who stood opposite an unknown bearded man. The room was filled with their images, proud and unmatched by normal people. Stone ordered his Metagross to use Bullet Punch—the attack flashed across the arena, barely caught by a hastily-ordered Protect. Their battle was under full daylight, multiple timezones away.

"It's the World Trial. I think this is the third round, the point where it starts getting really good," the man said.

"Who's the guy in the beard?" Ciel thought he looked familiar. He was a decade or more older than his opponent.

"Walter Josiah Wolf. He's, uhh, Sinnohan, I think? Or maybe Unovan. He was World Champion for a few years a while back before getting dethroned. I've met him once or twice at League events and he's jolly guy."

At first, he was disappointed that he hadn't the occasion to watch Cynthia and Lance battle, but Ciel quickly melted into the action. The effortless command they exercised was beyond anything he could hope to accomplish. Beneath the combatant's feet was a tundra; Ciel had seen environmental battlefields before but never in person. Wolf's Pokémon, a muscled white creature resembling an Ursaring, nearly disappeared within the ice sheets and frozen rocks littering the arena.

" _Beartic, Avalanche!"_ Wolf ordered. His voice was a low growl but overtaken with confidence.

Beartic reeled back and punched the ice with all its might. The muscle power behind it throwing a wall of snow sky-high was unimaginable. The sheet overcame Metagross, surprising the announcers doing play-by-play.

Stone didn't back down. He was barely sweating, in a suit and tie no less. He shouted, _"Rapid Spin to clear the air!"_

Metagross could see nothing with the sky blanketed, and when it began clearing by rotating at high speeds, a titanic punch met it head-on and slammed it to the force field. Ciel had to cover his ears, as even through the TV the deafening crack split his eardrums.

" _Unbelievable! Wolf used the blanket as cover to charge a Focus Punch and he didn't even call the attack!"_ said the play-by-play.

Of course, the Steel-type Pokémon's defenses were too great to be phased, though it was worse for the wear. It had the Type advantage, so it had kept up pressure on its opponent since the battle began, forcing Beartic on the defensive. Neither had a leg-up after that devastating blow. The camera zoomed to Beartic, who was breathing heavily, then to Metagross, which had no physical reaction but sported a clear crack in its metal body.

The battle continued, dragging the two combatants through the ice and snow. They torethe arena to shreds, busting rocks and shattering ice into miniscule shards with their and their Trainers' struggle.

Ciel asked, "Do Pokémon like to battle?"

"I think it really depends on the Pokémon. Some are really competitive, others not so much, just like humans," said Chuck, who threw back a water bottle, one of those exercise bottles with the pop caps. He had been just as invested in the battle and could dissect it expertly.

"Not what I meant," he paused, " _sensei._ Do Pokémon battle because we make them, or do they battle because they want to?"

He put a hand on his chin but didn't peel his eyes from the screen. "I talked to the Professor down in New Bark and that one in Alola about this a few times. Big scientists say that it's like exercise. Just as we're doing, in fact. Battling regularly keeps Pokémon healthy, boosts the immune system, produces hormones, all that. Pokémon in the wild battle in packs all the time, so it's about as close as we can approximate it."

"But, do they _want_ to?" Ciel asked again.

The Gym Leader awkwardly bent across the coffee table to grab the remote. He couldn't bend his back well and had to stretch to reach it but managed to smash the mute button. Chuck leveled at him. "You are just the king of questions, aren't you? Sheesh."

He sat back, falling into the couch. Ciel did the same. His question was still in the air.

"Some people think owning Pokémon is barbaric, if that's what you're asking. I know there's a movement in Unova trying to make it illegal, calling it slave labor. I guess I get that, but Pokémon are smarter than people realize. They bond with us like they would with their peers and consider us their family. The only thing that declares that we _own_ them is this."

He pulled out a Poké Ball, one he hadn't seen before. The green on its lid was broken up by red, ovular spots.

"Without a Poké Ball, all you have is two peers who rely on each other to improve. For Trainers, it's getting fame, money, and influence, or solving arguments and problems, while for Pokémon, it's physical health and evolution. The common denominator is winning in battle," Chuck explained while examining the capsule. "When a Pokémon doesn't want to battle, it doesn't. Sometimes, when you can't be the Trainer you need to be, you let them go. You put them where they can live their best life."

Ciel sensed the implication. He asked, "Have you ever had to release a Pokémon?"

He noticed Chuck was getting nasally. The man inhaled, sniffing to clear his nose. "Yeah. I have. A good Trainer does what's best for their Pokémon. Always."

Ciel couldn't move his eyes from his lap even after Chuck unmuted the TV. Aki walked in with dinner and more _saké_ _,_ but by then he didn't feel that hungry. He left the two in the family room and curled up on the couch.

Had he ever truly asked his Pokémon what they wanted? If he was no better than he was before, his Pokémon didn't deserve him. The thoughts thrashed inside his skull until he fell asleep, just in time to drag himself from bed and trail Chuck to the Gym

Ciel never knew how easily months passed.

* * *

Crystal took command. "Maron, Aqua Tail."

His tail doubled in weight as water swelled inside and he leaped to the air. The Marill slammed the attack into the ground, and though its opponent deftly back hopped to dodge, the small resulting shockwave blew it off balance.

It was Gold's turn to counterattack. They were only doing formal turns for training's sake, even though battling tended to be more complicated in practice. He shouted, "Croconaw, Ice Fang!"

The beast was already enraged by the _audacity_ of its opponent. It barely needed an order to dive forward, jaws wide and snapping. Crystal had noticed her partner becoming more evasive and passive in battle, and as she stared at the scar on his side she could understand why. He hopped and weaved and dodged the successive bites that clamped on open air—he was too nimble to be caught so easily.

However, Croconaw finally managed to sink its teeth around Maron's tail. The thin segment connecting body and tip, rather than being torn, stuck itself between the recesses of the reptile's teeth. A thick layer of ice produced from Croconaw's jaws channeling energy fused the two together, taking both by surprise, leaving Marin to be swung around, unable to free himself but in no real danger.

"Oh, crap. Try to shake free, buddy!" shouted Gold across the ring. Beyond his shoulders, Silver stood with crossed arms ten paces back.

"If you're well into the battle, now might be a good time," said the voice at her wrist.

Crystal looked at her Poké GEAR to the Professor, who was connected on his laptop. As anxiety ridden as ever, the man shook in his seat but nonetheless kept focus. "Are you sure this will work?"

"I-it's the easiest way you can go about doing it. But, between you and me, I'm not sure you should be trying. What were you thinking trading it to him? I gave it to you for safekeeping, not willy-nilly lending, and he abused it in the first place," rattled the man. She'd tried to assure him before, but each time he ignored her. Sweat beaded down his temple.

"It's fine, Professor." As much as it rattled her, she couldn't let him know that she was as doubtful as he was. But she'd seen Silver lean in a different direction. More than anything, she wanted to be able to trust him, even if she was throwing herself ahead five stages to do it. "We're making progress, I swear by it. No harm will come to your Pokémon again."

The Professor swallowed _hard_ and nodded. She took that as the signal and conveyed it to Gold across the continuing scuffle.

Gold shouted, "Use Water Gun!"

Croconaw cocked his mouth open like a firearm and released a torrent of water. The ice cracked under the pressure. Both Pokémon were suddenly flung apart by Water Gun propelling both in opposite directions. Maron landed expertly, while Croconaw tumbled over his own mass.

Crystal eyed Gold stepping aside and Silver taking position on the battlefield. Croconaw was already charging and didn't notice. It was exactly what they needed. She called, "Bubblebeam!"

Maron blew a torrent of bubbles from his mouth, far more than his weaker Bubble move. Their training was beginning to pay off!

Silver raised his voice. "Use Slash!"

Croconaw listened to the order. He reeled back a claw and tore through the airborne bubbles, popping them harmlessly before they could contact his body. A few stray bubbles did manage to stick and pop, but he was mostly unharmed.

"Now use Crunch!" shouted Silver, pushing the opportunity further.

The Pokémon stopped in his tracks. He turned. He glared. His red fin spiked to attention atop his head. Crystal saw his muscles strain and pop with tension. Gold backed away, but Silver… Silver looked furious.

"You piece of shit! Why won't you listen to me?"he screamed at the Pokémon. He approached, almost involuntarily, and Crystal knew she needed to act. Croconaw growled a low growl, warning a jump and a massive bite as Silver stood over him. He brought his arm up. "Worthless!"

She became his view, as close to his face as possible she placed herself. He might have been angry, but nothing could best the sheer wrath on her face. Crystal felt the Pokémon behind her, remembering seeing him as a young Totodile, then with scratches and cuts and bruises and scars after he first evolved, many of which hadn't healed. She stared through Silver's eyes and a scared child stared back.

He lowered his hand and broke from the spell. Silver glanced at his fist and trembled—she didn't buy it, but all the same he collapsed to the floor.

"Fuck," he whispered to himself. He slid down the nearest wall, the window of the main light room, and splayed out.

Crystal called for Gold to take five, and to her surprise he immediately sat down next to the taller boy and began talking his head off. Whether or not Silver was enjoying it was ignored. Gold chatted about nothing and everything, making Crystal wonder when he started taking a liking to him.

She pulled herself to the railing. It cut into the undersides of her forearms as she held herself up, but she needed a moment to think. Olivine gave her that opportunity.

The three of them were atop Glitter Lighthouse in the city's southeast, specifically on the exterior walkway surrounding the light room. From her vantage point the city came alive before the bay, cranes shifting their crates to load and unload the armada of barges at the docks below. Above ground level, it looked like a second floor. Someone more acrobatic than her could probably cross the entire shoreline running—and occasionally hopping—along the suspended containers, jumping from green to blue to yellow to red to blue to green to red to green to yellow to blue…

Further beyond, of course, was the Sekido Ocean, stretching blue to infinity. New Bark wasn't far from its own coast, but her parents rarely had time to take the family to see the expanse. Nan was too busy with Contests, Mum with her at-home floral business. It was late into August, meaning she'd been gone five months now, seeing the world, learning new things, living the dream. She found it funny. When she left, her only goal was to help Ethan, intended to treat the journey like a long vacation retreat, yet she'd turned out chasing a goal since she started, even if that goal was somehow always the red-haired mess behind her.

"I didn't see that, but I heard that. I told you. I told you it was a bad idea, trusting the kid that almost made me lose my job, but no one ever listens to Elm. He's just a _junior_ researcher," the Professor chided from her wrist. She finally pulled her arm back up to her face, leaning on the other and continuing to stare at the ocean blue.

A body heads taller than him dragged the shaking man offscreen. She heard her Nan's voice in the background. "Come _on,_ Linden. Lyra is, like, a Pokémon master already! I'm sure she can turn it around."

Her Mum took to the screen in place of the scuffle outside Crystal's vision. The woman smiled at her, she smiled back, but they didn't say anything for the first couple of seconds, which allowed her to soak in the view a bit more. Mum was the only one who supported her at first when she conveyed her wish to help Silver. When Nan, after expressing that the criminal be treated as such, suddenly was all-in on their plan, Crystal could only assume Mum argued her into the wall for days.

"I've sent some arrangements your way, honey," her Mum said, accompanied by a smile and a twirl of her hair. "It's my reminder to keep yourself safe. You can't receive my flowers if you've put yourself in a bind."

Crystal opened her mouth then slammed it shut. She loved her parents so much. But, she wouldn't dare tell them that the three intended to fight the Rocket Syndicate. They wouldn't be able to handle it. Behind her Mum's calm face, Crystal knew she was cracked with concern. The stress would break her. Nan wasn't much better, except that she'd book it across the entire region to track her down instead of worrying at a distance.

"Thanks, Mum. We'll keep them as good luck charms, and hopefully our training will get easier. It's been pretty rough trying to get Croconaw to accept Silver again."

Professor Elm stumbled his way back into view, pressing himself to the camera, and punctuated a lecture by pushing up his glasses. "The best way to go about it, unfortunately, is monotony. That Pokémon can only build trust inch-by-inch. Keep trying what I suggested, because if you can insert the… criminal into the battle routine without him noticing, he'll realize he's in no danger. Unless, of course, that kid breaks him back down."

"Right, right," she breathed. In addition, she made a mental note of the Pokemon's sex, which she never actually checked. "I get it Professor. We'll keep trying, but it's getting frustrating that we aren't making progress. By the way, shouldn't it—he—have evolved by now? He's been a Croconaw for at least four months, and between your rehab training and our practice, I feel like it's overdue."

"Ah, another evolutionary phenomenon! P-please, allow me to explain!" As if she had a choice. He continued, "I'm sure you've seen already that Pokémon are usually rendered incapacitated after evolving because of the massive metabolic process required to reformat their bodies. Normally, this would be a death sentence in the wild, but fortunately, most Pokémon, according to my research, have a built-in safety check with their evolutionary triggers. One trigger is, essentially, positive hormone production."

Crystal had no doubt he was quoting a self-authored paper word-for-word. She'd consider it impressive if only it wasn't so annoying.

"Stress throws off the hormone balance required for evolution and offsets an approaching change until a Pokémon has settled in a safe location. In effect, when a Pokémon is under stress, it cannot evolve to prevent itself from weakening itself and falling prey to predators or the elements—"

"I get it, Professor, sheesh," she sassed. "I could have sworn you were focused on breeding."

The man slurred, stumbled, tripped over his own words, and when he'd finally collected himself, his cheeks were flush. "I am! Well, I was. It's just boring to focus on one thing for a while and I only get to talk about this with Rowan, so… anyway! Unless it just has a randomly delayed evolutionary reaction, maybe like your Marill, Croconaw should only evolve once he trusts the thief, otherwise he's being antagonized just being in his presence. I can't blame him."

She rolled her eyes. "Thanks, Professor. I'll keep it in mind. We should get back to training, so I'll call you guys later, alright?"

Nan and Mum both waved her away. She told them she loved them, they said so back, but Nan said it louder. Then Mum tried to one-up her, making Nan do the same. This kept on until Crystal shut the call off prematurely and turned back to her two companions. Her best friend and her worst nightmare made conversation where they sat. Actual conversation. Silver was responding to him. _She_ barely managed that sometimes.

"Get up, you two. We need to get to work, or else we're not going to have Silver ready for battle anytime soon, and I'm not sure the Rockets are waiting for us to get our butts together," she announced with an authoritative voice. Gold shot to his feet and stood at attention like a military peon but the red-haired boy remained on the ground.

Crystal offered her hand. She expected him not to take it, but after a moment's consideration, he locked hands and pulled himself up. The two shared a look. He said, "Let's get it over with."

Crystal tagged with Gold—he summoned Marigold while she took command of the reptilian Pokémon. It was surprisingly receptive to battling with either of them. Crystal imagined he wanted to spite his abuser once it understood that he wasn't going away. She hoped to turn its perception of Silver around, but she couldn't force it to forgive him. The best she could do was encourage it to give him a second chance.

When they were deep into battle, issuing attacks, dodging, making up strategies, Silver's voice replaced her own. It lasted maybe a move until Croconaw refused to continue. They took a break and then tried again.

Day after day after day.

"Ice Punch!" shouted Crystal. Her own ingenuity led the Water-type to develop the move. He could already focus energy into his mouth to freeze, so she assumed correctly that he could direct that same pathway to his arms for a powered physical attack. Croconaw launched forward and drew his fist back. Silver's voice cut in to repeat, "Ice Punch!"

It suddenly transitioned into a forward lunge, gaining enough air to drive the fist into its opponent, Silver's own Golbat. The aerial Pokémon was sent spinning into the wall of the lighthouse, but it didn't break from its flight. Crystals of ice grew along its permanently gaping mouth and down to its leg. The Pokémon turned towards Gold and refused to look at the battle. Its timid disposition didn't make their job any easier.

"Use Ice Punch again!" Silver ordered.

Croconaw curled his claws, spun on his heel, and drove his fist into Silver's stomach, coating his hoodie with a layer of ice. Silver gasped for breath but managed to keep standing in front of the growling Pokémon. She saw his fist curl but just as quickly relax, and the boy walked to the railing to cool off. Gold and Crystal continued their battle training Pokémon, subbing members of their team in tandem.

Gold ordered a Razor Leaf. Marigold whipped her head viciously, sending the energy projectile firing faster than the eye could follow. But it stopped. It floated oddly in front of Croconaw. Did it always have that purple tint? Both Marigold and Croconaw stopped in battle to examine the leaf with a mind of its own, but as Croconaw sniffed the hovering shot, it suddenly altered its initial trajectory to smack him in the stomach.

"Hey, I think that's Magical Leaf!" called Crystal. She checked her Pokedex to confirm, cross-referencing the move's description with the battle tactics section.

Gold curled his arms around his partner's neck, hugging her. She had grown tall enough that he barely needed to bend to do so. They rubbed heads, and Gold said, "She was already magic to me, ain't that right partner?"

"Stop messing around, you moron," Silver growled. A similar growl and impatient tapping of the foot came from Croconaw. If Crystal's memory served, it was the first time the two ever agreed on anything. Their training continued for the rest of the day.

And the day after that, and the day after that, and the day after that.

"Come on, Trinity. Use your head! All two of 'em!" Gold shouted. Trinity stood tall, taller than him even, one head reared forward, bared beak, and the other holding back. Gold ordered her to use Drill Peck. Her powerful legs bounded across the arena and her entire neck twisted like a string to rotate her offensive head at maximum velocity. Croconaw was too prideful to dodge. Instead, he slammed its limbs together to catch the spinning drill. Silver instructed him to use Water Gun. Croconaw ignored him, purposefully allowed the Doduo to wiggle free, untwist her neck, and return to Gold's side of the field. Silver gave up and sat by the window yet again.

Trinity had taken a few major bite marks, which matted her fur with blood. They weren't deep because Doduo fur was surprisingly thick, but Crystal decided they needed to stop to attend to the wounds.

"I see you're having a difficult time. Pokémon can only listen if you build up proper trust," said a young woman that appeared from the nearby access stairs. "Sorry if I'm intruding."

Crystal's eyes drew downward to her flowing, knee-length dress, sparkling like an ore vein peppered with valuable minerals. Her hair—a swirling color between light brown and auburn—had two small tufts poking out, kept in place by hair ornaments. Crystal asked, "Aren't you the Gym Leader?"

The woman nodded. "That's right. I'm Jasmine. I take care of the Pokémon that powers the lighthouse here. Not many come up here, so it's always a treat to see people enjoying the view however they wish."

"This Croconaw _hates_ this guy!" Gold exclaimed at the top of his lungs, pointing to the tired boy sitting at the window. "We're trying to make him forget that he—"

Crystal cupped a hand over his mouth and pulled her friend back. He struggled against her and his muffled muttered eventually trailed off. "We're trying to build trust here. It's taking a while."

The Gym leader drew a potion from a pocket on her dress. Pockets on a dress? Crystal stared down at her overalls, which she only wore because of the pocket advantage to regular girl's clothes. If they made dresses with pockets, she could have been wearing one this whole time. Jasmine offered the antiseptic. "A good idea would be to have him dress that Doduo's wounds. They can recognize displays of altruism, so if the Pokemon sees him helping another Pokémon, you could sway his opinion. I can't guarantee it'll work, though.

Silver pushed past her and grabbed the potion, too roughly in her opinion. Still, the Gym Leader looked satisfied as Silver sprayed and bandaged Trinity's wounds using the potion and some of their own sparse medical supplies. The bird Pokémon fell asleep amid the procedure, her heads dangling below her body. Crystal had to cover her nose to stop snort-laughing.

Whether or not he interpreted it well, Croconaw closely eyed the whole procedure. Jasmine walked over and offered him a small treat, yet another goodie retrieved from her enviable dress pockets. He munched on the dried meat, his gaze never leaving the red-haired Trainer.

"Well, I wish you good luck. If any of you are taking the Gym Challenge, be sure to stop by." She waved goodbye and entered the interior lighthouse chamber. She disappeared behind the odd apparatus in the center.

Croconaw, for the first time, willingly walked to one side of the battlefield to spar. She had planned on taking a ten-minute lunch recess, but if they were making any progress at all, they should capitalize on it. Once they started again, training resumed full force, and they continued day after day after day.

Sometime in early September—Crystal had lost count of the days—she decided it was time for a treat. It was a mistake to ask her family for money, which is why she asked Mum as privately as possible, but there was no mistaking who the ₽25,000 was _actually_ from, in addition to the restaurant recommendation. She was looking up a map on a Pokémon Center computer when she looked at the lock and realized she was behind schedule for her regular visit. She shoved all her belongings in her bag haphazardly and booked it down the intensive care unit.

The lights above her flashed between dim and bright as she strode underneath the array of bulbs. The smell was off-putting, that medical, sterile, stagnant, odorless odor. She turned a couple of corners and found a black-haired Center nurse hunched over a portable work desk nestled into the wall.

"Diane!" she called.

The nurse's face lit up and she broke from her focus to pull Crystal into a hug. Diane pulled away, hands on her arms. "It's so good to see you! Here for the usual?"

"Yep. Same place?" she asked.

"Ah, well, no actually." Jittering in her voice, she pulled Crystal over to the terminal. "I was just updating their position. They've been moved to the low-priority unit—essentially the Pokémon equivalent to inpatient care. Isn't that great?"

If that was true, it might even be possible for her to check Ciel's Quilava out, with his permission, of course. She'd been visiting regularly for weeks now, keeping Raven fed since she wasn't technically interred and giving Ciel updates. He hadn't responded to any of her texts, though. "That's excellent, Diane! Can I see them?"

"Right this way." The nurse almost skipped her way across the tiles as she led Crystal to the new housing. Passing through a hanging divider, the Pokémon Center changed from medical to residential. A soft red became the primary color, accented by a yellow, recalling her old high school. Diane pulled up to a door past three person-sized potted plants and unlocked it after fumbling and dropping the keys to the floor.

Diane spun on her heels and flung open the door. It was almost a child's play area, a rainbow-colored carpet on the floor and sky-patterned wallpaper stuck—badly, she noticed by the peeling at the edges— across three of the four walls. The front wall had a window, much like the intensive care unit. Crystal's eyes spun in circles to follow the movement of Ciel's Quilava, Arden, on the floor. As fast as his injured body could carry him, he ran. It was hardly a jog, yet still a run.

"Isn't he great? He's done this these past few days. Excited to get back on his feet, this one. An energetic little fella," she said, kneeling to the floor. Upon noticing them, he lit up. The band of flame sacs around his neck ignited to full burst for a few seconds before petering out.

Crystal approached, but a white body planted itself firmly between them and the injured Pokémon. Raven bared her sickle at Crystal in particular, intentionally shielding Arden's body from sight. She paused. No movement from any party.

Diane whispered, almost like she didn't want to be heard. "She's been doing that more and more. I think she feels abandoned."

Crystal's shoulders dropped. Raven really did love her Trainer, didn't she? She couldn't imagine the feeling of being left for months. Neither could she imagine the feeling that caused Ciel to leave them. That meant she was the only one to care for them, and if these Pokémon needed help, she needed to be there, to be a helper.

She asked Diane for a bowl and filled it with some meat she'd been keeping in her guest room fridge. She inched it towards them across the floor. Raven growled, and Crystal swore she could see the sickle sharpening itself in defense. Still, she kept pushing the bowl until it sat directly under Raven's nose. The Absol apprehensively examined the meat, then took a bite. She kept eye contact while chewing, not dropping her defensive stance for a moment.

Crystal and Diane backed from the two Pokémon. Only then did Raven lift a piece of meat from the bowl and drop it in front of her ward. The Trainer and nurse watched in respectful silence as Raven fed her injured companion. Diane suggested they leave to let them be, and Crystal couldn't argue. She was no replacement for their real Trainer, but she would still be there as long as he couldn't.

"I'm sorry about that. I could imagine they'd react more positively to their Trainer returning… I hope. I might be able to get a behavioral specialist in here and see if they can calm her down, but I'm already on thin ice for letting her stay here." Diane rubbed her toes together, staring at the floor. Crystal gave her another gracious hug.

"Thank you for helping us so much. If anything happens, call me first thing and I'll help as much as I can," she said.

The nurse nodded and smiled ear-to-ear. "Thanks, Crystal. It's nice that I've gotten to know you. Usually it's come and go around here, so you're helping keep me sane."

Crystal waved her friend goodbye and booked it back to the lobby, hearing clacking of her nice shoes on the tile. She sped as fast as she could walk into the main area, finding it crowded with the late-afternoon rush of passing Trainers. Lines crowded behind the receptionist of people looking for available rooms or services. Lucky for them, they already had their rooms, and Crystal wasn't about to give them up, no sir.

She spotted her two companions already ready and waiting thanks to the head of red hair poking out above the crowd. Her feet carried her through the crowd, weaving among the bustle, her even pushing some people out of the way that rudely cut in front of her. When she reunited with Silver and Gold, they didn't waste any time. Crystal announced, "Let's go! We've got a reservation soon and I don't want to miss it."

"You were the one who was late," mumbled Silver, but he followed intently.

Gold whirled past them and twirled once, twice, three times like a ballerina. He called back over the crowd, "Come on, Slowpokes! Oh wait, I have one of those, that's offensive. Come on, Shuckles!"

Crossing the city was a joke. Judging by the amount of industrial work that went on in Olivine, what with the cranes and ships and iron-clad scaffolding, most of the city's workforce was home by five. That meant that, aside from the Pokémon Center, there was no traffic and no crowds to hold them up as they booked it twelve blocks to the nice place Nan graciously recommended. It didn't even have a sign over the door, just a chalk-on-blackboard sign and a doorway nestled between an insurance firm and a hairdresser.

A waiter greeted them and led the three to a back-corner table in the restaurant. It was too cold for her liking, but fortunately the sleeves on her outfit were long enough to compensate. Ethan put his jacket back on despite taking to wearing it around his waist recently and Silver—predictably—put up his hood and disappeared in the large garment. They ordered quickly, despite some awkward and repeated indecision by Gold, and resigned to waiting for their order.

"What the hell even is this? This place is so patronizing," Silver commented, sipping the water he was provided.

"It's not patronizing, it's classy. I'm not sure you have much experience with that," she chided, smiling passive-aggressively at him with her head in her hands. The establishment was very open form and several customers had Pokémon active at their tables, which is probably why there was a section on the menu dedicated to Pokémon food.

Gold's entire drink vanished down his gullet and he excused himself to the bathroom. The remaining two tried to make conversation, but Crystal found that as difficult as it always was. One of Silver's orders arrived early, a plate of small meat cutlets without much sauce or seasoning. She was about to ask their purpose when he released Croconaw into the restaurant.

He only managed one irate growl before the swirling aromas of meat and vegetables and soups and drinks pulled its curiosity away. Ignoring Silver, he lapped at the smells with his nose, until the Trainer offered a dangling chunk of flesh. Croconaw hesitated, then swiped it, turning around to eat without admitting it.

"Do you think he's starting to trust you?" asked Crystal.

"If he is, he's doing a damn good job pissing me off." Silver set the rest of the plate on the ground for the Pokémon to sort out. He'd gotten good at not pushing his luck, Crystal judged. He spoke up again, asking, "Am I making progress?"

"Well, I'd say—" she cut herself off, surprised. Something was fishy about him looking for validation. It just seemed so out-of-character. "You're doing fine, Silver. Croconaw at least tolerates you and is recognizing that you aren't trying to hurt him, and your other Pokémon don't seem to have a problem with you since you didn't, you know…"

She didn't know how to say, "you didn't get the chance to abuse them," so she didn't. They were caught shortly before they met in Azalea, she learned later. He seemed to understand and moved on. "I hate the weak. Weak Pokémon, weak people."

"You've made that clear before," she chided, sipping her drink. He was too insistent on it sometimes.

"If I'm getting stronger, I can finally put the Rockets in their place. I can finally stick it to Ariana."

"She's their leader, right? Do you hate her specifically?"

Silver squeezed his glass of water until the glass cracked. The waiter had just returned with their food to witness it and hurriedly rushed the leaking glass away to replace it. Crystal made the executive decision not to continue that conversation and dug into her nice beef and seafood marinade. The sauce was an exotic berry mixture that popped at the edges of her mouth yet sweetened as she washed it back. Silver's face lit up with the first bite of his own meal and he began to shovel it down.

Gold shoved his way into the table, knocking Silver's waist with his own and dumping some of the red-haired boy's food over the table. "I'm all good now! What did I miss?"

"You were gone for over twenty minutes, you idiot. Food's here, dig in. The bill's on me since my Nan doesn't know when to lay off," she announced to the table.

They ate. Aside from the broken glass, nothing interrupted a nice evening. They made small talk, though she and Gold were most active, but primarily just enjoyed the meal and the company. Croconaw inspected Gold's meal, since he now sat on the end, and Gold had to wrestle the plate away when the reptilian Pokémon snatched it.

Crystal almost wanted to order some alcohol. What would be a better way to celebrate all the progress they were making? They'd trained their hardest for nearly two months by then, having to balance their funds because of the extended stay in Olivine. Of course, her parents would have none of it if they discovered she was wont of cash, but that's beside the point. As she looked through the hard drink menu for something refreshing, a look came across Silver's face. He stared at Gold, then at her, then back at Gold. His gaze held.

"What did you say to her?" he asked.

Gold's mouth was shoved with the last vestiges of a fancy noodle bowl. He swallowed the entire load at once, coughed, then said, "What do you mean?"

Silver's eyes met hers intensely. The red looked deeper than ever before. "The day you traded my Croconaw, he said something to you. You weren't going to let me have it back, maybe ever. What did he say?"

"I didn't even know it was a secret. Are we keeping secrets? _Can_ I keep secrets?" Crystal impatiently twirled her hand like a wheel to get him back on track. "Well, I reasoned it out with my brain. Croconaw was the Professor's Pokémon up until we traded him back to you, so obviously he wasn't yours. But your Pokémon had to be under your own account, 'cause you aren't a user on the Professor's account, right? You had two other Pokémon you could have used to run off and rumble with those Rocket gangsters or whatever like you did in Azalea, so I mean, why didn't you?"

Silver was stunned. He said nothing, as if it only just now clicked for him as well. Gold had made an excellent point, that Silver was staying with them of his own volition. A willingness to change.

"I figured, you must like us," Gold stated, proud of his masterful deduction. "Because we're so charming and clever and cool, huh? You wanted to travel with us, we weren't keeping you at all, so you must be a friend. She seemed to think so."

She had trouble admitting it. She didn't realize it for a while and couldn't convince herself of it because of what he'd done to the Professor and to his Pokémon, and in some ways to them. Yet he approached them. They enjoyed the tournament in Goldenrod together, and they spent continuous time trying to work things out. Crystal was more and more convinced as he attempting to gain trust with his Pokémon that Silver was her friend. Maybe not her best friend, far from it. But he was a friend.

She watched her friend disappear. He pushed Gold roughly and left the restaurant in a hurry. Like when he first disappeared into the woods, she was paralyzed to follow him out of shock, but soon found her footing and excused herself from the table. She ran outside into the darkening, metal streets of Olivine, but he was gone.

* * *

 **This chapter, and in some ways the previous, sort of dragged with me. I think the problem is that Chapter 20 was** _ **amazing**_ **, probably my personal favorite alongside Chapter 10 due to some great character moments/development and really driving the plot forward, and I feel like I'm failing just trying to match it. Still, I've liked a lot of the ideas and worldbuilding I've used in the past two chapters, so it's not all bad. I'm still on the edge of my seat for a few upcoming things and putting in my best effort!**

 **I noticed while writing this chapter that I've been inconsistent with my capitalization of certain terms such as "Pokémon Trainer" and "Professor". To be transparent, I'm trying to keep formatting in line with how it's represented in-game (generally using Bulbapedia as a guide so I don't have to meticulously cross-reference the games) even if it technically opposes normal English conventions for titles. I've gone back and edited this to the best of my ability, but I may have missed a few examples here or there.**

 **Following my tradition of reviewing media in these notes, I've been enjoying Fire Emblem: Three Houses for these past weeks. I'm going extremely slow and won't complete it for another month at least, but it's kept me constantly engaged during my play, especially due to the facelift in narrative presentation compared to some past games. I didn't play Fire Emblem Echoes, but I had a poor experience with Fates (involving a wasted one-hundred dollars and a lot of unfulfillment) that downed my enjoyment in the series, so I'm glad this game brought me back. This'll tide me over until Astral Chain.**

 **I'm excited for next chapter so we can do some more development for Brent, which I mentioned previously was somewhat lacking in the first half. So, check back August 24th for Chapter 23: The Legend of the Tower!**


	23. The Legend of the Tower

**This story is co-developed and edited by Titan127.**

 **Disclaimer: Pokémon is a registered property of Nintendo, the Pokémon Company, and GameFreak. This work respectfully uses the world and characters of the Pokémon series, with no intent of harm on the original creators. Please support the official releases of the Pokémon franchise.**

 **Chapter 23: The Legend of the Tower (6,119 words)**

* * *

Working was easy, resting was hard. Brent erred towards the path of least resistance.

It was barely the crack of dawn when he started. A calm purple pervaded the air around him, silent before the town was fully awake. He arched his back to hoist a heavy crate ten meters until it slipped from his grasp. With only one good arm, trying to move them was awkward. Trying again, another ten meters. The sweat on his hands must have been causing his grip to slip. Yes, that was it. He threw off his jacket after wiping down his hands and arms and forehead and moved the crate again. Nine meters. Then eight. Then five. The slowed pace didn't stop him from moving the remaining twenty crates behind him into place.

He stepped off the truck and collapsed. That was okay, he just needed a few minutes. Just a few minutes to watch the sun peek over the horizon. The truck's owner wandered by and marveled at his handiwork against the mountain backdrop. It rose suddenly on the east side of town and blocked out the ascending sun.

"Gee, thanks. I really needed to get this loaded for my delivery today. I'm gonna track it to the Indigo Plateau and I could use as much time as I can get," said the driver. He was also built to block the sun with a beard to match his frame. His baseball cap was pulled so low it covered his eyes.

Brent lit up. "You're heading to the National Farmer's Market?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Cherrygrove native," he said, adding a proud beat of his chest. "It's usually about this time of year and I always wanted to go, but I never had the money to do a cross-Region road trip."

"Good to see you know the struggle. But are you sure you really wanted to do this? I'm in better shape than you," said the driver, who flashed both his hands.

"Absolutely," Brent said before cranking his muscles into a smile. "I'm trying to be a hero."

"Do ya' at least want some money for it? I got about ₽3000 in my wallet if you—"

"You're too kind! See you!" he exclaimed and walked off without a bill to his name. The money slipped from the driver's blank grip. Brent waved.

That was only one of seventeen for the day. The regular pain in his broken arm was coming back, so he tossed back some of his bottled prescription to keep at it. That was the only thing wrong with him, and even then, it could only slow him down if he let it, and Brent Custos wouldn't let a minor hiccup interrupt his dream.

Halfway across town, he met an elderly woman—she had to be nearing a century—standing by her garden. Her house was cracked, overgrown, missing planks and roofing tiles, as if she hadn't touched it her entire life, while the garden was so immaculate it barely looked like a product of nature. A wave of green rolled down the mountainside peppered with bright red spots and rivers that eventually emptied into the ocean.

"You must be the one who answered my ad," croaked the old lady in a sluggish drawl. Brent had to restart his brain just to understand her, her words lagging so far behind his perception. "Please, dear, help me pick my apricorns. The red ones are perfectly ripe this time of year, but I'm getting too ancient to do it all myself. Stiff bones."

Brent sprinted headfirst into the field, snatching a basket the woman held out in a split-second. He shouted, "Yes, ma'am!"

He got to work. He worked from when the sun stared him eye to eye over the mountains and continued as it slipped higher. From each tree, meek yet strong standing, he carefully snapped off two red apricorns and placed them in the basket. No more, no less. He delivered them to the woman when it became unbearable to lift with his single arm and went back for more. Twenty trips and it was done. The elderly woman had trouble expressing her gratitude and again Brent was offered money for his services, but he declined.

The third job took him to the city hall, where among a stack of paperwork and stamps and printers a short, moustached, balding man furiously set about arranging and organizing what hadn't been tended to in months. The man shoved a stack of fliers and pushpins at him between stamping documents, the action mechanical, him returning to the regular routine without a hiccup or a word.

Brent found himself sticking the fliers any which way on any which house he could find while the chilling fall air swept in. Mahogany almost got cooler at the height of daytime and he couldn't reason why. The fliers advertised some community event that was barely visible behind the word "ALCOHOL," front-and-center.

Hanging fliers wasn't a difficult job, but his legs protested as he booked it across town and back around again to find any building he hadn't slapped a paper to. And in a way, it was fun! It was like a game of uncovering every rock in the woods as a child. He contorted his face into a smile to ignore the pain below.

He shuffled his feet in front of each other down a boot-worn path in the center of town. Brent tacked a flier to each building, mailbox, signpost, and person he could find. The town was dead by mid-morning after a gaggle of schoolchildren shoved past him towards the schoolhouse. One of them shouted as she flew past, "Hey, I know you!"

He greeted back but she said nothing. She was too fast to pay him any mind after. The energy made him smile again.

Once he coated the entire village in paper, he returned to the city hall to report his performance. There was a grumbled "thanks" between the administrator's frustration-fueled rants that he took as a notice of dismissal. Fourteen other jobs wouldn't do themselves.

Brent checked off his list one by one, skipping both lunch and breakfast for lack of time, until at one point he happened to pick up three other tasks in the middle of another. Brent juggled one carton of eggs, a leash trailing the Growlithe that dragged him along, a watering can, and an old metal detector with his one free arm. His other hurt like nothing else. The medicine must have worn off already.

Growlithe: walked. Flowers: watered. Metal: detected. He rushed to find whoever requested the egg delivery from the Torchic farm on the east side of town—they happened to have his next request. He was getting so much done and helping so many people, just like yesterday, and the day prior, and the day before that!

A man in a greasy, gray tank top and a towel wrapped around his waist like a belt slid out from under the only other vehicle in town as he approached. Brent handed him the eggs. He disappeared into his house and returned moments later without them. He said to get in the car.

"Wait, didn't you have a job for me?" he asked.

"I did," the mechanic said. He looked to be in his early thirties, dark stubble around his chin and a few stray hairs peeking the hem of his shirt. "It's called 'get in the car.'"

Brent had no idea how he let himself get into the situation, but the remaining jobs that day disappeared further behind him. The rough and tumble handyman wasn't much of a talker, so left to his own devices, Brent kept his attention on the rough spats of road or the hollowing rumble in his stomach or his tired legs or the encroaching arm pain. His eyes caught everything in a desperate act to not sit in one place.

They were thrown around the worsening road. The uphill led through the northern mountains and Brent could only wonder—with a gloomy suspicion—where they were headed.

"So, kid. How old are you?" the mechanic asked.

"Umm, I'm nineteen, sir. I turn twenty in December." He tripped over his words when he snapped back into focus.

"Nineteen and starting an odd jobs business? That's pretty ambitious, even for someone as motivated as you."

"An odd jobs business?" Brent blinked. That wasn't what this was at all! Did the entire village not understand that he was just trying to do the right thing? Was that why everyone was so insistent to compensate him? "No, no, no, it's not a business. I just saw that 'help wanted' listing in the town square and wanted to take up on it."

The mechanic took his eyes off the road to look him up and down, which made him shake in his seat. "Really? You've been doing this for weeks now, so we kind of assumed you set up shop and are here to stay. People even started calling you the, uhh… what's a good translation for _yorozuya?_ House of ten-thousand businesses?"

"That's not it. Seriously." His face went red. Brent refused to meet his gaze, so the man turned back to the rugged incline and pumped the accelerator. Brent said, "I just… want to help, I think."

The smell of exhaust filled the car from the mechanic's cough-riddled laugh. It only embarrassed him further. The mechanic said, "Anyhow, the village decided we needed to treat you. In fact, it was the new Gym Leader and her husband who suggested it when a couple of us met over lunch a few days ago, said she had seen you running laps all over town for days at a time with a broken arm. I'm surprised you're even still standing."

"I'm perfectly fine," Brent explained, despite his legs, and his arm, and his stomach, and his eyes, and his brain. "But thanks anyway."

The car finally pulled over the hill and began to descend into a forest. The forest was the same deep, tall-tree biome stretching across the northern side of the mountain range, but it was mindfully cleared out to allow vehicles to pass from that point. Everywhere else must have been so dense that a car couldn't fit. A gaggle of Pidgey cleared, revealing an unfortunate mess left by another Pokémon. It passed underneath the car and they left it behind, but Brent felt it linger on his mind too long.

The trees cleared. Sparkling blue water expanded over the horizon and presented the full might of the Lake of Rage. Past days' rain had caused the lake to rise nearly a meter up its banks, submerging trees that used to be on a small island. Brent's eyes widened. Probably half the population of Mahogany had set up blankets, tables, and portable stoves and grills where skewers and soups were served up hot by the bunch. The mechanic pulled up to a cheer.

Brent didn't want to step out. He was pulled against his will from the vehicle to sit at a picnic bench, surrounded by faceless Mahogany citizens. He recognized all of them but knew none of them—their featured passed blankly through his eyes, forcing him to realize that the past few weeks had been nothing but a blur as he did job after job after job after job after job. A few of them wore badges of the local police and more were stationed further along the lakefront, not participating in the festivities and guarding yellow tape.

One member of the crowd held up a glass of alcohol and called for a toast. Brent stared timidly at the wood of the table, tracing the grain and chipped imperfections along its surface. His legs and broken arm burned their way up his nervous system.

"Let's all give a cheer for a new, big part of our community!" shouted the picnic-goer. "He even helped arrest some poachers here a few weeks back, so let's give him a hand!"

The crowd whooped and cheered at him, but just as quickly as their voices rose, he drowned them out. He couldn't keep his eyes from the lake and the scene replayed.

* * *

" _No!"_ he screamed.

The harpoon pierced the Pokémon's skull. The once-great behemoth crashed into the lake, dead in an instant.

Brent threw his last remaining Poké Ball and Gyarados erupted from the lake in place of its fallen red brethren. Upon a single glance of the scene, the monstrous creature roared in fury and the giant white fins along his back swelled with his own anger. Brent ordered, "Dragon Tail!"

Gyarados screamed again and slammed his tail, charged with a violent amethyst energy, across the bank. The colossal force tore ground asunder and threw Rocket grunts skyward. They didn't even scream as they toppled motionless on the ground. Mysterious purple sparks danced across their bodies. The tail ripped through the harpoon cannon and splintered it into thousands of wood splinters and metal shards.

He didn't stop. The Rockets manning the nets mobilized after him and he ordered his other three Pokémon to attack. Tyrogue and Eevee shot forward, but Furret hesitated a moment. He must have sensed the passion driving Brent into a rage and fulfilled the command.

One grunt received Eevee's Tackle to his gut as he shouted at his comrades. The blow wasn't enough to knock him over, but the follow-up Jump Kick from Tyrogue—the humanoid Pokémon planted him arms in the dirt, flipped himself into the air, and planted his foot firmly through the criminal's face—was. The standing Rockets flipped open capsuled that materialized their own combatants.

A guttural sound rivaling Gyarados's own came from a muscled body. A Pokémon appeared, surrounded by purple, spiny plating, marked by a single horn from its head. Another Rocket released what could only be described as a pile of slop, nearly identical in color to its ally. The Nidoking charged.

Eevee barely managed to jump from the path of the fist that slammed into the dirt. Lodged into its own attack, Brent took the opportunity.

"Furret, use Fury Swipes!" he shouted. Tears streamed down his cheeks and he could barely see the battle. His partner sprinted to meet the attacking creature and used its arm as a roadway to meet it face-to-face and tear marks into its armored face. It tried to clamp its maw around Furret's arms, but he pushed off its shoulder and bounded to safety.

A body appeared beside him and held him up, yet he couldn't remember losing his footing. Zuki and Umbreon stood strong besides, so why was he the one falling to the ground?

"Lucine, use Confuse Ray," she ordered.

The black-furred Pokémon concentrated for only a moment. It closed its eyes and a wisp of bizarre creation escaped its forehead and floated forward. She aimed at Nidoking but settled for Grimer when the former finally managed to dig its arm from the ground and topple away. The pile of slime was rearing to release a toxic belch, but the confusion dissolved its barely solid form. It pooled like liquid, its "face" melting into itself, unable to keep its constituent parts together, the brain hidden somewhere inside the poisonous puddle scrambled.

Nidoking reared up again in place of its incapacitated comrade before Gyarados's tail swung around a second time at Brent's command and entombed it. It didn't move.

The grunts had no more Pokémon between them and broke for the woods. Zuki ordered Confuse Ray a second time, this time the enveloping the men with its sinister force. They wobbled, slowed, lost their feet, and fell into the dirt. Only five men were at the lake and all five were beaten into the dirt.

Red. It was both behind his eyes and before them. He traced the brilliant hue of the Pokémon floating in the lake. His own Gyarados had calmed and hung in mourning over the other. Brent's heart slowed and his breathing hitched.

He collapsed to the ground.

A muffled voice called out to him. It was right next to him, yet it was so far away. It repeated. It was his name. Someone was calling for him, but he couldn't pull himself back. Again, and again, it called his name. He just wanted to sleep and closed his eyes.

* * *

"Brent!"

He shot up and was resisted immediately. Warning signals all around his body told him to stay down. His body ground like misaligned clockwork and he had no choice but to oblige.

The Trainer opened his eyes. A bed cushioned his back and he could just barely turn his head to examine the interior of the small mountain cottage. A series of floral decorations curved in downward arcs at the base of the roof's interior—he could smell their stifling, pine aroma from where he lay. One large arrangement hung down from the central light in the room, low enough that you'd bat it with your head walking underneath. The bedding was rock-hard against him, but he couldn't tell if it was him or the bed.

"Oh, thank goodness. I thought you aren't supposed to faint for more than a few seconds, but you slept for hours. You had me worried," said Zuki, who hovered over him on a stool by the bed. His smile to her faltered after a few seconds.

"I… fainted?" Brent questioned. "I don't remember feeling lightheaded or anything. Are they still having the picnic at the lake?"

"No. They said you fell unconscious once you arrived, so they stopped to bring you back to the village. Apparently their first thought was to bring you to me, for lack of a hospital, but all I could do was hope." She let out a long sigh and placed her hands in her lap. Her legs dangling from the chair were held together and angled to one side.

Brent tried again to pull himself up and made more success. "Sorry to bother you, then. I know you've been busy trying to get the hang of Pokémon training, so I'll just go get back to—"

She placed a hand on his chest and gently pushed him back. It hardly registered how much he exerted himself trying to sit up. Everything was locked up, felt stiff, burned, was numb, or just couldn't move. What happened?

"No, you aren't. You need to stay right here and let yourself rest," Zuki said, that hidden authority resurfacing.

"I don't need to rest!" he protested. "I'm perfectly fine and I've got a bunch more jobs to do today!"

"Brent," she began in a hushed voice, then paused, "you're _hurting_ yourself."

"I said, I'm fine _!"_ he snapped at her. Immediately, he regretted the move and shrink inward on himself. His neck clicked like a ratchet when he turned his head away.

Silence passed between them. He faced the bed window and the evening darkness. The torches throughout the village came to life after the sun fell, probably gas-powered, providing soft beacons throughout Mahogany. They were constellations. There was still the housecleaning job, the decorating job, and the litter-pickup job, though he hadn't seen any strewn garbage over his days of running around.

Zuki spoke up. "Brent, have I ever told you the Legend of the Tower?"

He didn't turn his head. She had mentioned it at the Ecruteak Dance Theater, and maybe a few times as they traveled, but she'd never explained what it meant.

"As a Kimono Girl, I'm sworn to uphold the local legends of Ecruteak, and to some extent, the entirety of the Johto Region," she said, not waiting for his answer. He heard her shift in her seat behind him. "The most sacred of these is called the Legend of the Tower. I think you should hear it."

He turned back again to see her plea. She didn't need to say anything. He could see it in her eyes. He nodded.

"Do you know what a Legendary Pokémon is?" she asked.

He titled his head to the side. Everyone knew about the Legendary Pokémon. "Well, people think they're gods, right? The powers above that originate the laws of the land?"

She nodded. "The Legend of the Tower concerns Ho-Oh, the Guardian of the Skies. It's a magnificent creature, a bird Pokémon with rainbow plumage and an aura of flame, who protected the Region from danger in years past. It would roam the skies to strike evil where it gathered with its holy blazes and save the lives of those in danger.

Awkwardly, she stood up from her chair. "Umm, I'm sorry. Every time I've told it, it's been part of my performances. Do you mind if…"

He managed a chuckle. She puffed her cheeks, which only made him laugh more. He said, trying his best to motion to his broken arm and body, "Go ahead. Not like I can stop you, right?"

The cottage dimmed with focus on her. She shrugged off her floral jacket, pushed away the chair to give herself space, extended her arms to the side, and began to move.

 _A heavy rain weighed down the world. The young scribe who worked in the Brass Tower shielded herself to step under the great arch. She let out a breath and chattered from the cold, but she wouldn't let it slow her down. Dashing through the downpour once more, she crossed the final gap to enter the sanctity of the tower, where immediately she was met with the healing flame._

 _The scribe gazed upon the pyre's beauty. At the base of the tower, controlled and watched, fed by trained retainers, a rainbow flame of the Guardian eternally burned. Before it, three young Beasts, they too taking shelter from the rain, embraced its warmth._

Zuki curled in on herself and shivered, but with haste she threw her arms wide. The ghost of her kimono hugged her body—he could see the folds flying and trailing her movements. She began, "The Brass Tower had stood for centuries. As one of two Guardian shrines, it was serviced by the shriners of Ecruteak. This tower was originally built to honor Lugia, Ho-Oh's rival Guardian, but when Lugia disappeared into the ocean, it was repurposed as a second monument to the Guardian of the Skies."

 _She laid out what food she had clutched under her robe. She'd taken to feeding the Beasts, for they were servants of the Guardian. They lapped up her offering without hesitation. The destructive ones of amber and gold paid her no mind, but to her surprise, the fin-adorned beast of azure pushed the dish back towards her. She shook her head, for she couldn't possibly share with the servants—they were far above a simple scribe such as herself._

 _Her work began. She wrote of the raging war. She wrote of the disastrous weather, of the floods it brought. She wrote of paired beacon towers attracting refugees from across the land to their beautiful city, the only monument among the swirling hurricane of blood and fire, for it was the last bastion of the true flame. She wrote of her simple dances in the square—her personal contribution to the history of her home. The scribe scrawled the hours into her parchment until the dead of night came and stayed, yet the storm never wavered._

"One night during a great storm, a young scribe and three Pokémon were the only inhabitants of the Brass Tower. They hoped for shelter from the elements and to weather the world's turmoil around them." She knelt on the floor. She moved her open hands, five fingers in contact with the floor of the cottage, in odd circles. Zuki pulled herself gracefully to her feet and twirled once, twice, three times. She fell into a rhythmic trance with her movements.

 _Her work finished, she left the servants to their warmth and dashed back through the melting sky. She was swallowed within the torrent. The scribe hoped her little abode would still be standing when she returned._

 _The storm exploded. It threw her, thunderstruck, into the ground. She could see nothing, hear nothing, and feel nothing, but the burn buried itself into her tongue. She tore his arms to push herself up and her eyes fell upon the Brass Tower._

 _It set the falling night alight with the fires of ruination. Licks of flame twirled betwixt the wooden materials and consumed all inside the heat. At first, the flame was the simple, dirty, common blaze, but as it reached the base of the tower, colors swirled within. The Guardian's flame had broken free, overtaken the tower, and burned bright against the heavy downpour._

"In a moment of lapse, Ho-Oh's flame consumed the Brass Tower it was contained within. The Guardian himself didn't bear witness to his flame's own destruction." Zuki's dance became frantic, desperate, sorrowful. Her movements jerked wildly, with no rhyme or reason, yet he knew it was practiced to the bone. He was unable to look away.

 _The scribe could do naught but watch the tower fall. What was once free of death and plague was brought down in a single night. Without a sound, burning wooden panels fell from the heavens and crashed into the ground. She looked to the sky for the Guardian but found death from above._

 _She was weak—slowly, she crawled through the burning debris, pulling herself through the mud to the base of the tower. The flames had consumed it to the base and left nothing but thousand-year ashes. The scribe pulled herself through the foundation to where the flame once rested and laid her eyes on an empty pedestal. The servant Beasts… they were nowhere to be found._

Suddenly, Zuki fell to the floor, collapsing hard on her back. Brent outstretched his arm in reflex, but he held back when he saw the slow rise and fall of her chest. From the ground, the kimono girl breathed softly, "The scribe was the only witness to the Brass Tower's fall that night. Within, the three servants of Ho-Oh perished under the rain and lightning and flame."

 _She cried. Try as she might, she couldn't hold back the tears. Her own records of the centuries were burned alongside the sanctum and now the divine creation could never be reclaimed._

 _A light from the sky blinded her when she raised her head to meet it. The light of the Guardian's flame enveloped the true Beast's body as He descended from on high, clearing the rain with His arrival. Each beat of His wings shone the brilliant spectrum buried in its plumage._

 _The scribe begged to the Guardian. She begged that the Guardian forgive her for destruction of the shrine, for her insolence before a deity, for the deaths of the servants He held dear. She closed her eyes and waited for a silent end, but instead the rain began anew. It was a gentle shower of warm droplets. The scribe raised her head and saw that Ho-Oh's aura of flame had vanished._

"From on high, the Guardian appeared, but by then it was too late," said Zuki, who first pulled to her knees, then raised her arms to meet each other and then drew them down until she bowed her body across the floor. "The majestic Ho-Oh could only gaze upon what his flame had wrought and his failure as the Guardian of the land. Upon realizing the death of his servants, Ho-Oh's soul shattered with blame."

 _The holy flame engulfed the tower and scribe within. Rather than the embrace of death, she experienced rejuvenation as the mending heat breathed new life into her. But she barely noticed, instead her gaze fixed on the three columns of pure sunshine that rose from the tower and shattered the dead of night._

 _The brilliance outlined the form of three powerful Beasts. Strong in body, stronger in the elements, and strongest in soul, they rose from heaven's light. One was coated in a magnificent fur, from which rose the flames that consumed the tower. Another bared wicked fangs and a body barely visible, sharp and flickering like the lightning that struck the tower's peak. The last's hide flowed like the rains that engulfed the world that fateful night and a beautiful mane that billowed in its wake. These three Legendary Beasts bounded into the darkness and the scribe couldn't be sure she'd ever witnessed them at all._

"With his sacred power, Ho-Oh brought the servants back from the dead and imbued them with his own strength. They disappeared into the wild, and for centuries people have chased their images, but to date no one has managed to find them. They're gone, just like…" She trailed off, yet her dance didn't waver. She brought her arms close to her chest and held her hands together over her heart.

 _The beat of the Guardian's wings was of sorrow. The light of morning graced the landscape and by then the scribe's tears had run dry as the first rain, but the second, gentle rain streaked down her cheeks. The Guardian met the morning sky and drifted towards the sun—a slow, methodless flight into the distance. The scribe outstretched her hand to Him, but she couldn't stop the Guardian from fading into the bright._

 _By the time the rest of the town had awoken, the Brass Tower never existed at all. The shriners, and the artists, and the warriors, and the refugees, gathered to find the scribe standing staring motionless at the sun from within the ruins. They looked too but saw nothing, and nothing was what they would forever see._

Zuki stopped. No movement. Brent let out a huge breath and collapsed into the pillow. "That day, the Guardian of the Skies too vanished, much as Lugia into the sea and the servants into the forest. Only one person had seen him on his final passage from the world and she spent the rest of her days in service to the missing Ho-Oh. The sister tower to the Brass Tower, what was once known as the Tin Tower, was fitted with an enormous brass bell. It became the Bell Tower—every day, the scribe ascended the new tower and rang the bell in the hopes that Ho-Oh would hear the chime and return to this world. But he never did."

The kimono girl pulled the chair back up and sat close to Brent on the bed. His injured had faded through the performance. All his senses were on her and he could barely comprehend the power she carried in her motions.

"That scribe, that woman… she founded the Dento house, hundreds of years ago. She brought life to the theater with the performance she created to symbolize that fateful night, for as the sole witness, she felt duty to keep Ho-Oh's memory alive. That was the birth of my family—a lineage of master dancers who channel the tales of this land through their bodies and their souls. The Legend of the Tower was the first."

"But why tell me this?" he asked. Any other questions he had to ask couldn't form on his lips, for he was too starstruck to put his emotions into words.

"Because you and Ho-Oh are the same." The absolute certainty in her words caught him off-guard. He shook his head silently to himself, unable to respond. She said, "You both witnessed the death of Pokémon that you feel you could have protected."

"But Ho-Oh brought those Pokémon back to life!" he protested, finally forcing himself to sit up, aided by the soothing effects of Zuki's dance. He stared her straight in the eyes for once.

"That's not what I—"

"But it is! A god can bring a Pokémon back to life and fix his mistakes, but I can't! People said that Gyarados was one-of-a-kind and now it's never coming back. I want to be a hero, and I failed."

"And why do you think killing yourself to make people happy will fix your mistakes? Why do you need to fix a mistake that wasn't your fault?" she countered. He shied away at the force in her tone.

"Because," he began, unable to process, unable to think, unable to explain, "what else… what else can I do?"

Zuki enveloped him in a hug. She made sure to watch his arm and put no pressure in the embrace, but he welcomed the comforting touch. She said into his ear, "I knew you'd look at it that way. But, when I say I compare you two, what I mean is that you both gave up. You've stopped trying to be a hero—you're trying to falsely atone."

The girl pulled away, rose, and stared towards the window. Wherever the cabin was located, the falling sun in the west was still barely visible. She raised one arm and cast a line to the horizon. "Amidst the horror of war, Ho-Oh made it his purpose to save any innocents by striking down evil. Even on the battlefield, those young, scared men forced to combat would find their wounds non-fatal. Only those the Guardian deemed evil could die. But, because the war distracted him, his servants were the first he had ever failed to save. And what did he do after his first and only failure? He left. And many people died."

Brent pulled to his feet and shambled over to her. He lost balance and was caught by her shoulder. He apologized profusely, but she placed her hands on him to hold him up. He too wanted to see that sunset, to hopefully see what she meant.

Through a break of trees, through a valley that split right where the sun fell, through a circle of clouds that coincidentally parted, the rays reflected off his eyes. It soothed its skin with the embrace of the sun.

"Ho-Oh abandoned his role as Guardian of the Skies because, in the face of all he had saved, he focused only on one failure. You're doing that right now. You don't recognize how much you've already done and you're losing yourself as a result. It's not making you happy."

He muttered to himself. "We talked about this before."

"You're Brent Custos. Every time you've seen someone or something in trouble, you've taken the first step. You meet everything with a smile. You're amazing!" she said. "So, you need to realize that and to put yourself back on your own road. There are so many greater things you're capable of. And I don't mean you shouldn't help, but you need to keep walking."

His eyes never left the sun. Was that where he was walking? He leaned his head on her shoulder and let the brightness fill his skull. He asked, "Do you think he'll return?"

"Hmm?" she hummed.

"Ho-Oh. Do you think he'll return one day?"

"Well," she paused, "that's part of why I met you. I think I see that same aura about you that the Guardian of the Skies had in legend. Mother used to say that he could be summoned back one day by a true hero, and, well, when you introduced yourself you said…"

"...I want to be a hero," he finished.

Brent and Zuki spent an hour watching the sun disappear. Neither of them moved a muscle, letting the world cycle while they stood immobile. His arm still hurt, and his legs still hurt, and to his memory, he still hadn't eaten anything that day, but for a little while, it didn't feel like any of those were true. He felt amazing!

He threw himself down on the bed, finding it much softer than before. Zuki lit the fireplace to ward away the nightly chill and settled into her chair. Both were starting to fall asleep, but Brent spoke up.

"I still haven't earned the Glacier Badge. That's what I'm going to do once I feel better. Then, I'm going to march up to Blackthorn and keep going." Brent paused and mulled it over. "And I'm going to be ready. Ciel, Crystal, and them said they were going to take the fight to the Rocket Syndicate one day. I offered to meet them there, and I'm going to. Then I'll be a hero."

Zuki said nothing but chuckled into her own soft snores. If she was already asleep, it didn't matter. The only one who needed to hear it was himself. He embraced the bed.

Something struck him. He said to himself, "I'm going to miss our meeting, Ciel."

But it didn't stick with him as he drifted to sleep. He could tell his friend in the morning and was sure he would understand. Sometimes it just takes time.

* * *

 **This chapter was tumultuous, to say the least. Various life things got in the way and forced me to move my release back a week, and I even ended up cutting something from this chapter as a result. I'm going to have to do some on-my-feet thinking in consequence, but I'm confident in my ability at this point that I can still make it work.**

 **Personally, I thought this chapter was great! I've been trying to get in the habit of being more positive to encourage more productivity, and especially after 21 and 22 felt off, this was a breath of fresh air. I had a long conversation with my codeveloper, Titan127, recently, and being able to just exposit about what I've done and where I plan to go has really gotten me going. This story wouldn't be possible without him, and for that I'm forever thankful.**

 **The next chapter is Chapter 24: Teacher to Student. Its scheduled release is (hopefully) September 13th, and I'll be trying my best to get it to you on time and ready! Thanks for reading.**


	24. Teacher to Student

**This story is co-developed and edited by Titan127.**

 **Disclaimer: Pokémon is a registered property of Nintendo, the Pokémon Company, and GameFreak. This work respectfully uses the world and characters of the Pokémon series, with no intent of harm on the original creators. Please support the official releases of the Pokémon franchise.**

 **Chapter 24: Teacher to Student (5,029 words)**

* * *

"Damn it!" she shouted into the empty street and drove her fist into the closest wall. Crystal ground her knuckle into the hard steel. "Damn it, damn it, damn it!"

Her vision lost focus down the street. Everything was a muddled charcoal—the sky, the road, the buildings, all of it. Gold approached from behind, having trailed her from the restaurant as she screamed Silver's name through the empty city. He said, "You're almost starting to sound like him."

"Shut up," she snapped. "If you don't have anything useful to add, just shut up. Why am I always running after that idiot?"

"Hey, I'm perfectly useful, and I think you're a little too torn up over this," her friend said. He put a hand on her shoulder, and she wasn't annoyed enough to brush it off.

They were so close. After months of trying, Crystal assumed that she and Silver had found common ground. He said they'd get strong enough to defeat the Rockets together, and she couldn't forgive herself if she let that opportunity to help someone pass her by, so she didn't. She gave it her all. She assumed Silver was giving it _his_ all. They were both becoming better people one step at a time. Right?

She punched the wall again. Of course not. Silver only cared about himself and she should have seen that from the beginning.

"Hey," said Gold. He had the audacity of a smile on his face. "Can we skip this part?"

"What the hell do you mean? Do you even care? Does any problem even matter to you?" she threw back.

He put his hand on her other shoulder and twisted her to face him. She didn't want to meet her friend's eye and stared away.

"So, like, usually when something goes wrong, like when we couldn't find him the first time, or when the Rockets were in Slowpoke Well…" He must have noticed that she flinched, hard, because his grip on her shoulders tightened. "Basically, when something goes bad, you mope first. Why not just skip the moping and get right to the action?"

"Why do you assume I want to find him?" she asked.

"Because if you hate that he left, you'd hate it even more if you didn't try to fix it."

Everyone in the city was home—the lights downtown, barring a sparse few, had gone out completely, so Crystal couldn't see anything except the white reflected by his toothy grin. She knew it was genuine and she hated it. She leaned in and pulled him close, resting her head against his chest.

"Mission accomplished: Console Friend!" proclaimed Gold, which made Crystal realize she was leaning against a brick wall instead of a person. "I'm like a trained therapist. I understand you better than _you_ understand you."

"And yet, I don't think I'll ever understand you, you idiot," she muttered.

She pushed away and took in the longest breath she may have ever taken. She held it there, letting it flow through every twisting muscle in her brain, and then exhaled hard. She said, "Okay. Okay. Where do we start?"

"Why are you asking me?"

She contorted her face. "You're the one who suggested we go after him. That implies you had an idea."

"No," he clarified, "I suggested that _you_ might want to go after him and then intended to follow you. That's how it works."

"I hate you."

"Pssh, don't say that," he said.

"I definitely hate you."

Croconaw's giant maw barreled past her and almost made her topple over. Fed up with the lack of vision, she clicked a switch on her Poké GEAR to activate the flashlight. The spotlight revealed the blue spot among the darkness—the reptilian Pokémon was dragging its face along the ground and licking the road at regular intervals. She flinched at the sight.

Had it even noticed Silver was missing? Their past weeks of training made Crystal think they were building trust again as Trainer and Pokémon, but all it was doing was goofing off. However, she saw it pause and take in a deep breath before continuing to move.

"Croconaw, are you sensing Silver?" she asked.

The muscled Pokémon turned a cursory glance towards the light before its nose twitched and it took off down the street. Crystal grabbed Gold's hand and raced after the creature. It was their only ticket.

Dead metal creaked above them and rattled Crystal below. She moved a bit faster in feat that they might fall and crash. However, as they got further from downtown, lights swirled along their path from houses, restaurants and bars. She saw clear skies ahead and the moon just peeking the dark sky, meaning they were heading towards the ocean. They swerved around a corner, then another, then another. It seemed like the scent trail looped around itself aimlessly, only correcting when they finally reached a nearby beach. Crystal didn't have time to appreciate the moon casting on the water because Croconaw booked it across a walkway towards the pier.

Their lead came to a halt and allowed Crystal and Gold to examine their surroundings. They were on a residential waterfront, contrasting the giant industrial pier a few kilometers down. Glitter Lighthouse's undulating flash passed over them from beyond the cranes.

Croconaw sniffed the surrounding area more but eventually flipped onto its rear and stopped moving. The trail ended there. Crystal guided the group along the pier in search of Silver. Various sailboats and other recreational vessels were lined up at silent rest, but there was no sign of her… friend. It was still difficult to say, but she would say it.

There was no sign of him, anywhere. Though a few idle boats were lit with socialites enjoying the night, none of them could say that anyone had come and gone. As they checked everywhere along the sand and boardwalk, it became increasingly clear that Silver was no longer in Olivine. Crystal cast her eyes out over the ocean.

"I didn't even know he could swim," said Gold.

She jabbed him gently with her elbow and he muttered a 'sorry' under his breath. He'd taken a boat, somehow. She wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt that he didn't steal it and managed to convince someone to give him a ride.

"Any ideas?" her friend asked.

"I've seen the maps, and there are two places he could have gone, I hope. Either he went to Cianwood, or…" She looked further out on the water. The moon reflected off continuous rock formations barely visible on the horizon.

"The Seafoam Islands!" shouted Gold.

"Whirl Islands."

"Right."

"Both are about a day or two's trip by boat," she said. "I don't know what he has to gain, but I—we—have to go after him."

She turned to him and stuffed some remaining thousands into his hands, the excess she'd been gifted for dinner. She also unstrapped her Poké GEAR and handed it to him, closing his fingers around the items. He asked, "What's this for?"

"I'm going to head south. Use the money to buy yourself a boat ride and get to Cianwood. Maybe if we split up, we'll have a better chance of tracking him down."

He held up the gadget in confusion. "Don't you need this?"

"Ciel gave his PC access code a few days ago in case I needed to take his Pokémon into my care. If you're heading that way, you should take them with you. Ask for Diane at the Pokémon Center."

"Do you think we're going to find him?"

"Maybe," Crystal said. "If we do, it's because he wants to be found. That's what I'm counting on."

* * *

The number taunted him. Down a few, maybe, but not enough. It made it harder to get back into the swing of things, even if he didn't necessarily mind his weight, and more than anything he wanted to feel like he used to be. The kid always seemed to be looking his way when he stepped from the scale at the end of the day.

They exited the Gym. After the kid talked to him that night, he began leaving a service door at the side of the Gym cracked open. It was a small enough town that he wasn't likely to have anyone break in, so it pained him that he hadn't taken the consideration for the Pokémon to be stuck inside. They could do what they want.

Chuck didn't like keeping kid late after training so early, but he couldn't ignore his duties as a Gym Leader. Not that he had anything to offer when he got home since he slept early. Or, at least, Chuck tried to, but the minute he laid down next to Aki, he spied a blinking blue light on his laptop. Begrudgingly, he pushed himself back out of bed, grabbed the electronic device, and moved to another room to answer the call. Kori's face lit up the screen.

"Hey," she groaned. He returned barely a greeting in kind. She said, "How is Ciel faring? He still won't respond to my husband's voicemails."

"I don't really know, Kori. He's almost keeping up with me when we spar and we've been going nonstop for months," he said.

"Are you keeping him clothed? Fed?"

Chuck leaned back in his chair, head back. He wore what was left of a greasy t-shirt and some exercise shorts. "I've got tons of hand-me-downs from previous students, before I became Gym Leader, and my wife seems more than happy to cook for three. I think she misses ours."

"Good. I can't cook worth a damn and it's always a hassle when my husband is busy," she said. "I'm prepping a care package of new clothing. It'll probably reach him when he gets back to Olivine, but I keep having to talk to someone higher to get something big sent."

Chuck said, "I don't know how I can convince him he's improving. He wants to believe he won't hurt his Pokémon, but now I'm not sure I can get him to that point."

"Then why are you doing it?" she confronted. "You and I both know what he's going through, but you could have easily sent him back to us. We could have handled it."

"But then—" He stopped.

"But then what?"

Chuck refused to meet her eye. "Kori… I need this."

His coworker's expression was nothing short of irate. She looked like she hadn't properly slept in days, judging by the bags. Her battle performance over the past few meetings must have been weighing on her. "If you tell me, Chuck, that my son is giving you purpose in life, I'm going to fly over there and knock you out."

"I'm serious!" he exclaimed. Immediately, he shushed himself, trying not to wake the other two in the house. Kori's stone face, while obviously disapproving, gave him opportunity to explain himself.

"He's gotten me working. I've trained more in a few months than I have in years because he keeps working. He's giving me a reason not to skip five of seven days," Chuck said.

"And it's enough of a reason for you to break the law?" she asked.

Chuck stared at the floor. It was blatantly illegal for a Gym Leader to accept another Pokémon Trainer as a protege without tons of vetting from the League. In fact, that was the process Kori said she slogged through some twenty years earlier with Pryce. Directly training against a future challenger would increase the chances they could defeat the Gym Leader and it blew open the main barrier to entry-level Trainers—sure, the kid was above average already, but rules were rules. The Pokémon League's formula for successful Trainers was carefully curated, and anything that tipped the balance was against its interests.

"Maybe it is, Kori. I needed _something_. I'm sorry it happened to be him."

"Okay. Okay. Just don't keep him longer than you think he needs. I don't need the both of us in hot water because of this."

"Right. Still, I don't know how long that's going to take," said Chuck.

Kori crossed her arms and thought for a moment. He could she was exhausted, and she was calling a couple time zones ahead of him. She said, "In Pryce's own words, you can't actively study Pokémon Training. Sure, you practice your techniques and you battle and battle and battle, but ninety percent of Pokémon Training is what you can convince yourself that you're capable of."

"Meaning? Are you saying it's pointless to try?" he asked.

"No. I'm saying that he's probably already there. He was tearing through the Johto Region until he hit Olivine, and after training with you for almost four months?" She leveled with him intensely. "It's not about what you can teach him now. It's about getting him to realize what he's made of."

* * *

"What do you want?" Chuck shouted as he threw a powerful chest-level punch.

Ciel brought up a hand to block. He botched it, and rather than directing the hand away, he took the blow with his forearm. He hissed but kept moving. He landed a weak strike at Chuck's chest and then bounded back. The two circled, light on their feet.

"What do you mean," he paused, breathing uneven, " _sensei?_ Like, right now? I think I want to stop losing our matches."

Chuck grappled, suddenly taking hold of Ciel's forearm and his side. The Trainer felt himself lifted off the ground and had only a second to correct. He rolled along the floor, but barely managed to stand and stance himself. Was that even part of the style?

The two were in a standoff, left sides up and forward, right sides low and back to defend. Chuck stepped forward and twitched his forward leg to pressure. Ciel didn't flinch, and the two returned to opposing each other.

"No, I want to know what you really want," said Chuck. "The reason you get up in the morning and walk into this Gym."

"Because you tell me to."

Chuck switched feet in his stance and kicked. Recognition of the movement crossed his face. Ciel twisted and let the attack follow through—by working with his momentum, rather than against it, Ciel could direct the opponent himself. Chuck's balance slipped for only a moment to allow Ciel to deliver a palm at his stomach. He staggered away but recovered quickly. Judging by Chuck's eyes, that answer wasn't good enough.

"I get up because I want to get stronger," he said. He kicked his leg to an empty target, Chuck having already circled around away from the edge of the ring. The next second, a fist flew past his face and brushed his cheek on the knuckles. Ciel swatted the blow away and retreated.

Chuck didn't relent. He was getting more aggressive. "Not good enough! That's the answer every second-rate Trainer gives before realizing they have no plan!"

Ciel took a jab to the stomach. He tried to retaliate, but Chuck expected the knee-jerk counter and Ciel stumbled through just as he'd done in kind before. A blow cut into his side. By then, his breathing was heavy, while Chuck looked as ready as when the spar began.

His Pokémon rested on the sidelines. They'd doubled down on training that day due to no one arriving to challenge the Cianwood Gym and his team was resting from their earlier sets. From the corner of his eye, he could see Hector intently scanning the ring with his eyes, Clovis preening himself into a brilliant mess, and Scyther scraping his blades against each other to sharpen them.

"I want the people I care about to know I can protect them," he said through gritted teeth.

The muscles in his arms protested another strike. However, he was able to land a glancing blow to the chest and finally saw a crack in the brick wall. A bead of sweat slid down Chuck's temple.

The Gym Leader grinned, and just like that, any weakness was gone. "That's better, but it's still not enough. It'll get you going, but what really sparks that fire?"

"Hah!" he echoed and kicked forward. However, it was a fake out. Chuck brought his hands down to block the leg, only for the true kick to fly past and knock him dead center. Ciel held back in his passive stance.

Chuck held up a hand. The man bent over, touching his palms to his knees, to recuperate. He'd gone from wall to puddle in a moment. "Timeout, timeout. I'll just call this one and say that you won, otherwise my old man bones are going to give out."

He looked straight at Ciel with a glimmer in his eye. "That said, you still haven't given me a correct answer."

Ciel collapsed to a sitting position. "It's my sister's smile."

"Is that so?" Chuck mirrored him and lowered himself to the floor.

"It sticks in my mind. She's got this perfect little smile and whenever I see it, I know everything's going to be okay. I'm going to make it okay, because otherwise she couldn't smile anymore." He suddenly scratched at his neck and was reminded of his encounter in Goldenrod. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out, as if he was afraid of the consequences.

"Okay. I think that's good enough. You've got an image in your mind. Now, what's your goal?"

"My goal?" Wasn't that in itself a goal? He hadn't figured that much out until he was already a month from home.

"If you want to make sure she's always smiling, what's your objective to fulfill that? How will you know you can keep that promise even if you're so far away from her?"

At that moment, he was a normal Pokémon Trainer with no more power than everyone else—he could only stand as a guardian if he was by her side. But he couldn't just stay in Mahogany his whole life with his family. He'd need to put himself in a position where he could keep them safe halfway across the world.

A Champion was capable of that. Each of them stood as a guarantor of peace and prosperity for their respective region. They were powerful symbols that people looked to as role models, whose mere existence outshone the dark underbellies of society. Peoplelooked up to anyone strong enough to compete on the global stage, and more than Champions were capable of that. Elite Four, Frontier Brains, Gym Leaders, and independent Trainers were symbols of peace too.

"A few months ago, in Goldenrod, I remember somebody asking me if I wanted to become famous," Ciel said. "I keep thinking about it. If I was as famous as Cynthia and Lance, and as powerful as them, I could do everything I want and more."

Ciel stood to his feet and fell into his ready stance. He threw a practice punch. "It's not just my sister now. I've made some amazing friends and I want to protect them too because I know they'd do the same for me. If I could stand up there on the Grand Axis at the headquarters of the Pokémon League, I could announce that the entire world is under my watch and everyone would _believe_ it."

Something cut his focus in two and he lost his coordination. His stance turned from pointed to awkward, and suddenly he was out of place before a master of Pokémon Training and martial arts. He was just a dumb kid with delusions of grandeur. "But I still can't even protect my Pokémon. They're my friends too, and if I hurt them trying to protect everyone else, then what's the point? One step forward and five steps back."

"You're still afraid that it's going to happen again?" Chuck asked.

"Yeah," Ciel muttered. "Even keeping in mind everything you said about knowing my limits and trying to get into that mindset, practicing here is nothing like a real fight."

Chuck let out a long sigh and finally dragged himself from the floor to meet Ciel in the middle. He'd similarly shed his focus and stood as a person instead of a fighter. Ciel smiled weakly at him.

Chuck placed his hands on the back of his waist and stretched. "I think you're overlooking something."

"What's that?"

Chuck didn't get a chance to answer, because there was a knock at the door. Or, because the person in question had already invited themselves inside, a knock on the wall. Ciel had no idea how long he'd been standing there, but he broke into a sprint as soon as he noticed.

It had been over four months since they had seen each other. Ciel had left Goldenrod once Brent obtained the Plain Badge and had remained ahead of them all that time. Ciel threw his arms around him and pulled him into as tight a hug as he could manage.

"Hey, look who it—" Gold was cut off by the crushing embrace. He wheezed, "I think you've… gotten a bit taller."

Ciel couldn't convey in words anything more than the hug already did. Gold gladly returned the gesture and the two stood in solidarity. The comforting pressure almost pushed his pieces back together. When he finally let go, Ciel met his eyes.

"Crystal sent you, right? Is she with you?"

"It's interesting that you think Crystal forced me to come here because you are absolutely correct." His brain blanked a moment. "Oh, boy, that's a story. She's somewhere en route to the Whirl Islands."

"She's not in Olivine? What about Arden? Raven?" he pressed, grabbing Gold's hands in his own.

"See for yourself." Gold pointed to the door of the Gym

Ciel turned attention to the dojo's entrance. The teal-blue fur was the first thing he saw; then, the bandages; upon realizing he'd been spotted, Arden burst to full ignition and filled the area with a red radiance. The Trainer sunk to the floor and Arden raced the distance between them to leap at Ciel's chest. Ciel barely managed to open his arms to catch the Pokémon, and once in reach, Arden viciously attacked him with physical affection, rubbing and scratching and nibbling. Just as with Gold, he held the Pokémon close and refused to let go.

He made sure to mind the bandage but ran his fingers along Arden's fur. The Quilava responded by arcing his back into the touch. Arden tried to contain his flames, but his excitement overtook his self-control—Ciel kept his hands clear to let the Pokémon express himself.

He wanted that single moment to never fade. However, another set of eyes dropped his stomach. He placed Arden back on the ground and stopped him when he tried to jump again. Raven strolled between them, planted herself there, and charged her sickle to use Night Slash. He pushed himself far enough away to make her stifle her energy.

The space gave Hector, Clovis, and Scyther time to reunite with their teammates. Momentarily, Raven dropped her defensive posture to brush her head against a stone horn, a feathered crown, and chitinous armor—he wondered if they were communicating somehow, if Raven was revealing the truth Ciel never told them. Watching the disparate creatures greet gave him a few moments to try to slow his heartbeat before Raven returned her condemning eyes to him.

"I'm not going to try to excuse myself," Ciel said with hushed breaths. "I should have come back. I had so many chances and I ignored them."

Ciel retrieved the two Poké Balls from his pocket that had been unoccupied for months. He slid both along the floor. Chuck nodded when he looked for confirmation. "I failed as a Trainer. I don't know how you feel, but if you want to find someone else, or go back to the wild, or anything better than me, I understand."

He tapped the tops of the capsules. Since Gold had to have traded Raven and Arden to his PC to check them out of the Pokémon Center, they were merely symbols of what once was.

Raven didn't move. She had warned him, he hadn't listened, and from her perspective, he'd done wrong everything imaginable. If she tossed away her Poké Ball, he couldn't even try to be surprised. However, rather than making her choice, she nudged Arden to coax him forward.

Gold watched in uncharacteristic silence. Chuck was the same and had his eyes anywhere but the scene unfolding.

Arden examined the two capsules. He looked to Ciel, then to Raven, then back to Ciel. With a paw, he pushed one forward, where it stopped its roll against the Trainer's leg.

Arden once again climbed into Ciel's lap and this time, rather than excited affection, he closed his eyes. The warm contact on his legs made him numb.

"But, why?" he asked. He looked to Raven for the answer, but she faced away, ignoring him in favor of parley with her teammates. It was some form of silent acceptance.

Gold pulled himself to the floor and leaned into Ciel. They rested their shoulders together and Gold wrapped an arm around to his shoulder. "Crystal said he was waiting for you to come back. He never gave up thinking you would."

Chuck spoke up. "This is the kind of mistake you don't make twice. You don't really understand the gravity of it until it happens, even if you're warned time and time again that it might, but once you do, you can never forget it. Remember that the Pokémon-Trainer relationship is a two-way street. Your Quilava realizes how much it weighs on you as well, and he's got a big heart to forgive you for it."

A couple of tears matted Arden's fur, but he didn't move from his position. In fact, he curled tighter in on himself, took hold of Ciel's pants with his claws, and refused to let go.

"But why should he?"

"The first thing you did after you washed up was try to improve yourself." Chuck's tone was much gentler than he'd come to expect. "You walked right up to me and demanded—pretty rudely, I might add—to train to be better. Really, you've always been ready not to let it happen again."

Ciel didn't understand. He couldn't understand.

"I'm not saying it was right of you to abandon your Pokémon, because it wasn't. But if they're willing to give you a second chance, and knowing more than you did before, what do you have left?"

He thought he'd need to give up his Pokémon, and he was fully ready to accept the consequences. But he'd never even considered this option, that he'd get lucky enough to lose nothing. He didn't deserve it. He didn't. Ciel curled his fists in front of him.

"All I have left is…" He turned his head up to level with Chuck. "All I have left is to not let them down."

"Couldn't have said it better myself, kid. Are you ready to put that to the test?"

Ciel looked to his remaining team. They hadn't been together in months and he imagined they'd want to catch up for a while. They were most important, and he couldn't forget that again. "No."

"No?" Chuck crossed his arms.

"I mean, yes. But, just give us a little while. I think we could use the time."

"Gotcha," the man said. He excused them, mumbling something about missing lunch, leaving Ciel and Gold with the Pokémon.

Rousing from his lap, Arden jumped away and began to pace in excited strides. Gold didn't move from Ciel's side and released his own team as well. The active party was quick to introduce a Bayleef, a Togepi, a Doduo, and a Slowpoke to their gathering. Gold leaned a little further into him, and though he at first felt uncomfortable, he quickly realized how much he needed it. A little while turned into hours and Ciel didn't regret it for a second.

* * *

"Take your positions!" shouted Chuck as he took a wide stance on edge of the circle carved into the floor of the Gym. This battlefield was substantially smaller than others he'd seen, even more so than the Goldenrod showdown's limited platforms. Gold put two pinkies in his mouth and let out an ear-piercing whistle.

Hector, Clovis, and Scyther were all ready to fight—none of them had been in a proper battle in months, just spars and the occasional runs around town. Scyther stepped up first and bared his uneven blades. Hector and Clovis presented themselves as well on standby. Further away, his last two were curled up on the mat, one fast asleep to tend his fading injuries and the other leaving one watchful, expecting, judging eye open.

"Don't we need a referee?" Ciel called, only now realizing that he'd never seen one over months of spectating Chuck's battles.

"Do we?" the Gym Leader asked.

"Isn't it required by the League?" he shot back.

Chuck rolled his eyes and beckoned for Gold, who had already crossed his legs on the floor, to come over. Ciel watched the man extend one arm and tap both his shoulders in succession. He said, "I hereby deputize you, uhh…"

"I'm Ethan 'Gold' Hibiki," he said.

"Why'd you do the air quotes?"

"Because it's my nickname. I'm Gold. Number one!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, whatever. I hereby deputize you, Gold Hibiki, as referee representative of the Pokémon League," Chuck said. "You are sworn to uphold the fairness of battle and protect the safety of all combatants, yada yada yada, capiche?"

Gold threw his hands in the air. "I got a job!"

"Is that even legal?" Ciel shouted across the ring.

"Not any less legal than not having one on payroll," Chuck said as he readied a Poké Ball and pushed Gold to set up beside the battleground. "It's two-on-two. Are you ready for this?"

"I am." He squeezed his eyelids shut. It was only a few short seconds, but in that moment and that breath, he let everything go. "Let's battle."

* * *

 **This chapter was the result of a focus on pacing. One of the main compliments I get is that my writing "flows" well, but even flowing material can drag. I tried to slim some descriptions, some transitions, and just generally get to the heart of each scene a little faster; that said, sometimes a fun dialogue exchange is worth the extension, so I took a mixed approach.**

 **This is essentially a two-parter, like 9 and 10 previously, since it'll directly follow up everything that happened here. I won't have the next one out quicker, though, since I've got a hectic week coming up, and I may or may not spend the week after playing the Link's Awakening remake.**

 **See you next update on October 4th for Chapter 25: Where One Belongs. Yes, that title was supposed to be three chapters ago, but don't worry about it.**


	25. Where One Belongs

**This story is co-developed and edited by Titan127.**

 **Disclaimer: Pokémon is a registered property of Nintendo, the Pokémon Company, and GameFreak. This work respectfully uses the world and characters of the Pokémon series, with no intent of harm on the original creators. Please support the official releases of the Pokémon franchise.**

 **Chapter 25: Where One Belongs (8,143 words)**

* * *

A Mantine whirled past, visible in the porthole for only a moment, and for only a moment curling a smile on her face. It dropped immediately and Crystal curled up against the wall in her cabin, as she couldn't see anything else in the deep blue.

She'd asked the captain of the vessel—a nice, if unruly guy—whether any other ships had gone this way. According to him, fishing boats and other small ships travel to and from the Whirl Islands all the time, and recreational vessels had a fifty-fifty chance of having a radio. She tried to ask him to get in contact with some others in the area, but he devolved into a rant about the dangers of going without marine radio. She excused herself below deck, where she wasted a couple days in silence.

Silver had nothing to gain from running off to some near-uninhabited rocks. For all her spiel, she put herself in the perfect position _not_ to find him, and she'd end up running off to the Whirl Islands for nothing.

A movement nudged her elbow and she realized Maron was asking for attention. She put her arm around him and rubbed one ear between her thumb and index finger. He fell asleep immediately.

Her cabin wasn't spacious, but then again, she didn't front much for passage. Stained white walls were broken by a wooden outcropping that framed the perimeter, about a meter up the wall. Her other two team members made the best of it. Penelope had strung up a web in an upper corner and hung in wait for a meal to pass by—none of the tiny bug Pokémon that buzzed in were even a snack for her size, so Crystal occasionally pitched high-protein formula food into her web, where she promptly spun it up. Ray spent most his time on the deck, but when he did come down to the cabin, he hung out in a specialized UV lamp room the captain said was for Grass and reptilian passengers to recharge.

The lurch of the boat jolted her. She gathered her belongings and emerged above-deck to see what had caused the commotion, only to find the captain and his few deckhands scrambling. One passing by nearly tripped over her partner, who followed her up. She asked, "What's happening?"

"Nothing good!" shouted someone else, who hastily fired a beam into the water and unleashed a Tentacruel. "Use Surf!"

The ruby stones on the Pokémon's domed skull lit up the water. Its tentacles multiplied and stretched underwater, moving erratically, manipulating the currents. A substantial force generated behind its motions, and shortly after a wave rose from the water and slammed into the side of the boat.

Crystal and Maron both grabbed onto something for dear life. Further down on the deck, she saw Ray wrapped around the deck railing in desperation. He slipped. She whipped his Poké Ball from her pocket and the beam made contact before he hit the water. When rocking boat leveled, hands shouted back and forth with the captain.

"It's no good, we're stuck!" She recalled Tentacruel from the water and rushed down into the hold.

Lyra grabbed hold of another person as they shot past. "Will someone explain to me what's going on?"

"We're on the edge of a whirlpool," he said. His face was streaked with liquid, but she couldn't be sure of the source. "We normally get through without a problem, but we hit a strong current. We could capsize."

"And you need something to disrupt it and dislodge you?" she asked.

"Yes! We don't have many Pokémon with that kind power on hand. Oh, goodness. I have no idea what to do!" He slipped from her grasp and made for the bridge, where he began frantically messing with some controls. The captain stepped from behind the glass in his place and ordered his crew to their positions. His voice somehow drowned out the panic, and in mere moments, everyone had fallen into calm, mechanical motions.

Lyra confronted him. "How can I help?"

"What do you have on ya?" His voice breathed years of training behind its alcohol overtone.

"Marill. His Huge Power might be able to make the impact you're looking for," she said, before casting her eyes across the deck. Another Pokémon sat by his lonesome, seemingly unfazed by the boat's peril. She pointed to the Croconaw. "And him."

The captain brandished a blue-capped capsule. If she wasn't mistaken, it was called a Dive Ball. "It's not enough," he said with a cough. "We need more power, because if we can't disrupt the whirlpool or clear its bounds, the displacement of water is going to pull us right back in. We need to make a big splash."

"Isn't that also a capsize risk?"

The captain glared. He released from the Dive Ball a short, heavy-looking Pokémon with coarse, blue skin. It croaked. The deafening announcement made her ears ring. "It's not guaranteed, but I'd rather sink this lady on my orders than be pulled under without any say in the matter."

"I'll have Maron throw yours and mine and we'll hit it together," she said. It wasn't a suggestion, and the captain eyed her for a second, but he nodded.

Croconaw had since wandered over by sheer curiosity. She explained the plan and received a grunt in response. Crystal and the captain stood at the ready to command their Pokémon. "Maron, launch Croconaw!"

Her Marill shoved itself under the larger Pokémon and lifted him off the ground, holding his arms skyward and balancing Croconaw atop. Maron focused all his energy into his muscles and with a short wind up, catapulted the Pokémon fifteen meters into the air. He quickly moved to do the same with the captain's amphibious creature—it was about the same size, but judging by Maron's response, much heavier. Still, he strained his muscles and threw. Barely five second had elapsed, and with both of its compatriots in the air, Maron wound up his tail and launched himself off the side of the boat.

Three meteors accelerated towards the water. Crystal ordered, "Aqua Tail! Superpower!"

The captain didn't miss a beat. "Use Focus Punch, Seismitoad!"

The Pokémon met the water.

The combined force of two massive punches and Maron's tail threw the boat sideways. Crystal locked her elbow around the railing and squeezed Maron's Poké Ball among the wave that crashed over the boat and spilled across the deck. She screamed, "Throw Croconaw back!"

The hole in her plan was that Silver still had his Croconaw's active capsule, leaving her no easy way to retrieve them both. As one beam from the captain barely caught his Seismitoad, and Maron once again used his power to pitch the other Pokémon aboard the boat. He almost didn't make it. Crystal threw out her free arm for him to grab.

She heaved the reptile overboard, accidentally tossing the creature against the wall of the titled vessel's bridge. She threw her arm forward and clicked the button on Maron's Poké Ball. The beam dematerialized a brilliant white.

Crystal used everything she had to keep herself aboard while hoping for the deck to even out. Air rushed around her from sheer speed of the boat—the impact's force and the push of the displaced water sent it gliding across the ocean. Damp scales wrapped around her leg, and knowing Croconaw needed her support, she tightened her elbow even further.

She let out a long breath once it was flat enough to stand, even though she still felt crooked when she stood on both feet. Her foot caught a lasting puddle and she crashed hard on her backside. She hissed through her teeth. Breath in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out. She put a hand to her chest and realized her heart beat so fast she could barely feel it. Her fingers were locked so hard around Maron's Poké Ball that she was forced to use her other index finger to push the button.

A new, yet old, figure emerged. His body was larger, bulkier, more egg-shaped. His ears had elongated and bent as they moved. But the color was still the same blue, and he was still as jubilant as ever, despite barely being able to lift his limbs. She pulled her newly evolved Azumarill into a hug. "Thank you, Maron. I don't know what I'd do without you."

She noticed Croconaw standing before them with its arms tied in knots. She opened one arm to let the Pokémon join their embrace. They waited for the all-clear.

The captain outstretched a hand. As she pulled herself up, she met a grumpy, yet surprised, yet impressed gaze, eyebrows up and frown soft. "We're clear as day. Couldn't have done it without ya."

"I wish I brought another change of clothes." Crystal pinched and pulled at her shirt and overalls, which now matched her weight in water. She chuckled to herself.

"Assumin' nothing spilled below deck and soaked the cabin goods, some a' my crew might have some spares. We owe you that much and a free ride."

Crystal looked out to the ocean. The rock formations marking the Whirl Islands were gigantic on the ocean, reflecting the sun off their soaked peaks like a blinding mirror. If she focused, she could spy the currents of the whirlpools spinning against one another. The captain returned to the bridge to guide them safely through the rest.

* * *

"There ain't much out here. If you're looking for someone, it's not likely they're far from the docks here," the captain said.

Crystal gazed around the shipyard. Algal masses floated between the ports in place of ships, some crawling up the docks. Everything but the faded red buoys on the water was a slate monochrome—Crystal thought even her skin was fading.

"Folks use this as an emergency stop out on longer commercial fishing trips or the occasional tour from the mainland, but we usually only get those once a month," he explained. "I needed to come out here to coordinate with the operator here, since we're having a few problems with the lighthouse back in Olivine. Be back here in about six hours so I can take you back."

She bid goodbye and started. A quick search around the docks turned up nothing but a few unused cabin homes and none of them offered a reply when she shouted Silver's name. Crystal found herself shifting along the beach with Croconaw in tow, having stored Maron away until they could revitalize him at a Pokémon Center. She asked the Pokémon to plant his tail in the ground and drag it behind them to leave a trail.

A wooden bridge reached from one island to another and she stepped up to cross. It stood defiantly on rotting legs, though the turbulent battering of the whirlpool against the supports left her uneasy. Since she was the heavier, the Pokémon cross first before she took her own steps to the second island.

Crystal was startled to realize that, maybe for the first time since she and Ethan left New Bark, she had time to think. Nothing crazy was happening, she wasn't putting herself in a dangerous situation, and her idiot wasn't with her to provide an endless stream of banter and bad ideas. She could just walk the beach and _think_.

She retrieved her badge case and revealed the five shining ornaments. It wasn't her goal. It was Ethan's. Her own Gym Badges were nothing more than proof that she was right behind him. Was that why she was going out of her way to find Silver? Did she only exist to further the purpose of other people?

Maybe, she realized as she gripped Maron's Poké Ball, she was fine with that. Maron's three faces ran through her mind. She'd known him since he was an Azurill, bred by her Nan for Contests. When he'd shown significant physical strength and battle prowess, Nan traded him to her, as she'd already decided to become a Pokémon Trainer to help whoever she could. Their partnership had let him grow and grow and grow and grow, and now he'd reached his final stage. She was there to see it happen. There was an indescribable joy in seeing others become the best they could be.

Croconaw perked his nose into the air and drew in a breath. He jerked left, then right, then left again. Crystal swallowed hard. She gripped her hat tight and followed whatever trail he found, secretly hoping against its identity.

The trail overlapped itself multiple times on the half-hour trip and dragged them in circles through the sands. They'd ventured almost two kilometers from the docks and there wasn't a single sign of life. She wished Croconaw could communicate what exactly he picked up—she doubted it was anything of interest. The scent danced until it disappeared into a dark hollow of the island's rock.

"Ray, we could use your help," she said as she released her Sunflora. He didn't wait for orders, as the cave entrance was all he needed. His head gleamed like the sun, but that light drained upwards and congealed into a liquid ball of sunshine that followed above his head. Without a Pokémon that knew Flash, she'd have to settle on Sunny Day's artificial star. His expression of the move was unfortunately dim due to lack of practice.

Crystal breathed alternatively to echoes as she followed Croconaw through the cavern. The rocks spilled from the ceiling in formations that reached the floor. Their light source reflected from the damp pillars but faded into the darkness beyond. Nothing existed past the radius of their vision. The odor of rot touched her brain, but when she took a second breath, the air was clean. The cave was too much of a reminder.

An exit came upon them suddenly and Crystal had to duck under a shelf overhang to emerge on the other side, where she laid eyes on the violet wall blurring ocean and sky. Distant phantoms of orange lingered directly above her while the stars reflected a second galaxy on the water. When her eyes finally dropped to the short beach in front of her, she saw a fire between two shaggy palms. By the fire, she saw a person.

Croconaw and Ray fell behind Crystal as she took the first step. He must have heard her, but he didn't move while she approached the dried, dead trunk he sat on. His arms softly pulsed with the life of the flames, his front glowing while his back was hidden in the island's shadow. She joined him and held her hands out to the fire.

"I hate you," he said.

"Lying doesn't suit you," she replied.

Twig skewers lined the beach, speared into the roasted whole bodies of Water-type Pokémon. Croconaw snatched one without asking and plopped into the sand to devour it. Crystal followed suit when she realized how long she'd been without a meal, but she wasn't used to meat looking like what it came from and she almost spit it back up. She placed it aside.

"You have some solid survival skills." A barrier hung between them on the log and she tried in vain to pierce it.

"You pick it up pretty quickly when you have nowhere to go," he muttered.

His hoodie hung on one of the skewers and she couldn't remember ever seeing him without it, though he seemed much smaller in the tank underneath.

"What's it like to grow up like that?" Crystal asked. "I can't even imagine."

She scooted herself away in anticipation of the answer, but to her surprise, Silver didn't react. Instead, he took a bite of his own meal, swallowed, took in a breath, and rested his forehead in his palms.

"I learned pretty quickly that nobody liked anybody. They'd stab you in the back without a thought if it meant more money or favor with the Boss," he said.

"Ariana?"

"Giovanni. He created us, that bastard, and even if we didn't like him, he forced us to respect him. Ariana was his go-to lady, because the other guy, Archer, was always out making deals." He speared the stick into the ground by the fire, where licks of flame caught on its upward end. "I don't know why they felt obligated to keep a kid around, but I tried my best to impress them. Everybody else was just a tool to get on the Boss's good side—they sure as hell thought the same about me."

He spared a short glance at Croconaw and turned away. "I used every person, every Pokémon, for myself. I thought it was working. I thought I finally meant something to those two."

"And then what happened?" Crystal was afraid to ask.

"Then that fucking kid came through!" he shouted, suddenly standing and curling his fists. "And just like that, The Boss left. When Ariana became the Boss, she took it out on me. The Pokémon she lent me were suddenly all hers again, she stopped letting me leave the base, and she refused to acknowledge my existence because I wasn't 'strong enough'. After a decade of trying to convince myself otherwise, the only two people I looked up to proved that I really was disposable."

He slumped back in his seat and didn't speak up again until night had fallen completely. "So, I left the one place I ever belonged."

He broke. The other time he'd been that vulnerable, he'd taken a punch to the face, so maybe it was understandable. But here, he cried the most genuine cry Crystal had ever witnessed. Valleys carved into his face like a river eroding thousands of years of rock. It was vocal, not just stifled sobs desperately grasping a fading self-image.

Crystal wrapped her arms around him as best as she could manage. It was awkward due both to the height difference and their adjacent positions, but she held him. His crying didn't stop, but with her head against his chest, she could hear his heartbeat calm. He brought a shaking hand upward and rested it against her back.

* * *

He hated her. She was so much better than him and she'd never let him be. And now, he couldn't feel any part of his body under the unfamiliar sensation—it was like pins and needles, but everywhere at once. He hated that stupid girl and her stupid face.

Silver stared at the ocean once he realized that she wasn't going to move. He exaggerated his breathing in and out. His face stopped leaking eventually, but he didn't feel any better up top. She spoke under her breath, "Are you not used to it?"

His words had dried his mouth to nothing, so he didn't answer. He found Croconaw staring straight at him. Instinct told him to avert his eyes again, but he didn't. There was no meaning behind the Pokémon's eyes—he wasn't pissed, he wasn't snobby, he wasn't anything. He pushed off his seat to stand at the water's edge.

"Like it or not, you've got us now," the girl said, squeezing his shoulder a little tighter. "You've still got someplace you belong."

"I thought you hated me," he said. It's easier that way.

"Did you leave because we said otherwise?"

"Maybe."

"That's some backwards thinking, you know that? I thought Gold was the one I couldn't make sense of."

Silver perked up. "Where is he?"

Finally, the girl let go to talk to him straight. His entire body needed a few seconds to reboot, but he found himself uncomfortably cold. The wind was kind of chilly. She said, "We split up. He's in Cianwood looking for you, which I assumed was a better bet."

"He's gonna kidnap someone that looks exactly like me," Silver said.

"I was expecting worse, actually. You give him more credit than I do," she replied. She walked over to her active Pokémon, the Sunflora, who rested against one of the palms. After a short conversation, she recalled him to his Poké Ball and walked back over. "Come on. We can't miss the return trip."

"No," he said.

"And why not?" She stood tall in defiance of the answer.

He picked up his skewer again and poked at the base of the flame. "Because I don't know what the hell I'm doing anymore. The past few months have been confusing, and frustrating, and irritating, and I feel like everything I ever knew got turned on its head and now I don't know fucking anything."

"If you won't come with us, what do you plan to do?" she asked.

"I just need time to think. By myself," he said.

He thought she'd drag the argument out. She was a persistent pain in his ass, given that she chased him across half a Region. However, she smirked. "Okay. I already had one friend try to carve his own way, so I think I get it."

"I don't know how long it'll take, but I'm still going after the Rockets. I'm going to dismantle their entire empire and rub it in Ariana's face." He planted himself in front of her. "I don't want you to get involved. But if you really do care… I'll be heading to Mahogany."

The girl curled her lips. "We'll be right behind you. But aren't you forgetting someone?"

Silver stared out to the ocean where he could barely separate the lone figure from the water. She shouted to Croconaw, who pulled himself up and ambled back over to them. The Pokémon continued to eye him as he came to her side, where she leaned down to the creature.

"Do you trust me?" she asked the Pokémon, pointing at herself. It growled in response, undercut by a bellowing tone. "Okay. What about him?"

Silver tried to relax himself under Croconaw's judgement. He was on trial before the grand jury, and it was deathly quiet while he waited for the verdict. The Pokémon didn't nod or shake his head, nor did he make a sound. His spiked crown was still.

She nodded to herself and rubbed the top of his snout in slow circles, causing the creature to close his eyes. A hot breath made the girl's nose wrinkle. "I get it. But you've seen what kind of progress he's made, right? You know that he's trying."

The two separated and she motioned to the Pokémon. It took Silver a moment to realize he was supposed to me and he dropped to the sand in front of him—from his sitting position, they were almost eye to eye.

Her voice drove into him. "There's one thing you never said."

Silver knew there was one thing he'd never said to anybody. Rockets never showed any remorse, nor did they ever look at past mistakes, and for as long as he could remember, that's he how he was. Nothing had really changed since then. In defiance of everything he ever stood for, Silver spoke.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything I did to you."

Croconaw hesitated a moment, enough to make his heart skip in his chest. But, when the creature willingly sat down, every possible emotion ran through his mind at once. He looked to her, but she was already walking towards the cavern, wielding a skewer lit like a torch from the fire.

Lyra had nothing left to give him but a backwards wave.

* * *

"Karate Chop, Primeape!" shouted Chuck. In battle, just like in a spar, he projected pure confidence. He was no-nonsense.

Ciel knew Scyther was fast enough to dodge and let the Pokémon use his own judgement to give him time to size up the opponent. It looked like a mass of fur with limbs, ears, and enough concentrated fury to make its hairs stand on end. Years of training reflected in its dangerous muscles, and Ciel knew even with the advantage that a strong blow could cause major damage. He assumed it was pure Fighting-type, or maybe Fighting and Normal? Scyther waited until the final moment and flipped entirely over himself, the chop attack slamming to the matted floor where he once stood.

"Keep up the pressure, push him to the edge!" Chuck's command brought Ciel's attention to the edge of the ring. It figured that a martial artist would style his Pokémon battling accordingly, so Ciel had to be extra careful of their position.

Ciel ordered, "Use Slash!"

The Bug-type Pokémon lashed out its faster claw as the opponent closed in. Primeape was within Scyther's immediate range, and it must have known the danger of playing in close quarters. The mammalian Pokémon blocked the blade with one muscled forearm, making Ciel gasp. The muscle fibers were so dense it barely dug in a few centimeters.

"Strike back, Primeape. Use Counter!" Chuck was as unfazed as his Pokémon and his commands were relentless.

Primeape took advantage of the intimate space and pulled back. His entire body pulsed with energy and he drove a haymaker into Scyther's head. Ciel flinched. The force dislodged the two and Scyther skidded further to the edge, planting his legs just inside the circular white line. Both pairs of combatants shared glances as they readied for their next exchange, and though the wound on Primeape's arm bled, it only made the creature angrier.

Ciel looked to the sidelines and found Gold, wide-eyed, throwing out comments like a live sportscaster, though he had mostly tuned the boy out. Further past he met Raven's eye for a short moment. She turned away towards Arden and he returned to the battle one second late for the next attack.

A Low Kick swept under Scyther's legs and the Pokémon took flight on instinct, flipping over its opponent and landing on the other side. However, Chuck immediately called Primeape to use Ice Punch. Ciel ordered in desperation, "Use X-Scissor!"

X-Scissor was normally an offensive move, but in a pinch, it acted like a parry, especially because Type energies interacted oddly on contact. The insectoid Pokémon brought up claws in a cross formation and they shined green in time for Primeape's ice-laden fist to make contact. Scyther's limbs flash froze as he skidded away. He wasn't in as much danger of a ring-out from his new position, but Ciel watched the creature try and fail to break the sheet of ice that now fused his blades together. His strength was drained after taking two direct hits.

Chuck spoke up, throwing out an important question. "You're at a disadvantage, kid. Your Pokémon is now in danger, so what are you going to do about it?"

Primeape wasn't nearly as monumental as the Pokémon Arden had fought that day. The sequence of events crossed his thoughts, when he watched the ground be fractured and debris fly. He'd allowed Arden to get too close despite the disadvantage and overestimated what they could strategize on the fly. That wasn't going to happen again.

The Pokémon cast a glance back at him and turned back to the battlefield, flaring his wings out, ready to fly. He trusted Ciel to make up the lost score. The Trainer called, "Take off and stay away from it."

Scyther took the air—each wing beat ten times a second and with enough force to create disruptive gales in his wake. However, with the added weight of the ice, he was having trouble keeping balance.

"Primeape, Ice Punch!"

The Pokémon launched into the air, catching Ciel by surprise. He thought he'd be safe in mid-air. He barely had time to react but knew he couldn't let Scyther take the attack head on. "Dive, but stay above!"

Scyther launched to meet the opponent on its way up. Without wings, Primeape had no way of adjusting its mid-air momentum. Scyther powered its wings just once and adjusted upward on the dive, which allowed him to bypass the midair punch and shatter the ice casing by slamming it over Primeape's head. It couldn't cancel its channeled energy, and when it plummeted to the floor, the contact froze most of the battlefield's surface. Ciel stepped back to avoid the ice forming around his feet.

"A stunning display by the challenger here folks," said Ethan from the sidelines. He turned around to the spectating Pokémon, including Marigold, Crown, Hector, and Clovis. "He managed to take back the upper hand after his Scyther was frozen solid. Let's give them a hand, everybody."

Ciel noticed Scyther's feet slip before he could call another attack. Another beat of his wings allowed the Bug-type to recover his balance, but it gave Ciel an idea. If he could rotate with the low traction, he could take advantage of his uneven body weight like Ciel had guessed in his notes. He ordered, "Rush forward, Scyther."

His Pokémon found leverage and charged against his opponent, who had recovered from his fall and awaited another attack, still nearly unfazed by previous damage. It was standing close to the edge of the ring with nowhere to go. Chuck called him to Counter once again.

"Scyther, extend your left blade, charge up Fury Cutter, and only beat your left-wing pair!" The Pokémon's powerful wings began to spin on a central axis. The heavier weight of its armored side intensified the momentum of the swing, especially as the Pokemon leaned into it. With each beat, he spun faster and faster until his figure blurred—at that speed, any Pokémon that met the attack would risk a serious injury, yet it was telegraphed enough to give Primeape time to react. It was all about knowing your limits and judging what you can and cannot take head-on. Just as much as it applied to him, it also applied to Chuck and his Pokémon.

Chuck called for his Primeape to dodge. The Pokémon dove out of the way and touched ground outside the ring. Scyther's blades pierced the iced and canceled the attack with a hard stop just before he too exited the battlefield.

"Oooooooooooh!" sounded Gold. He tapped his feet and shook curled fists in front of him. "I think that's a ringout! Is that a ringout?"

"That's a ringout," Chuck confirmed. The annoyed glance on his face hopped between Gold and his defeated Pokémon.

"The Gym Leader's Pokémon is rung out! Pretend I've got a flag!" Gold called Marigold to his side. He pinched the end of her leaf between his fingers and wiggled it. "Send in your next Pokémon, Mr. Leader."

"That was a ballsy move, kid. I thought the lesson was teaching you to know when to hold back, but you figured well enough that I'd have to hold back when you backed us into a corner." Chuck shared a few words with his Primeape and applied a potion he drew from his gi. The dismissed Pokémon sat in the corner to nurse the wound but fidgeted in place. Given its choleric temperament, Ciel imagined it didn't like to lose.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Raven, who then hung closer to the battlefield, awake and alert. He averted his gaze when their eyes met. A bead of sweat ran down his temple and his breathing lapsed. As Chuck crossed the ice sheet to speak to him, Ciel took a few deep breaths.

"How you doing, kid?" The Gym Leader broke from his battle facade and Ciel smiled at the face of a mentor. "I know it's your first real battle in a while."

Ciel admitted he was shaken. Raven was only putting up with him for Arden's sake and he needed more than anything to prove he was worthy of his partner, yet he had no idea what she wanted. He had to be confident, but he also couldn't order his team forward with abandon, but he couldn't just stall defensively in fear of them being injured. They did want to battle, and they expected to take hits. There were too many conflicting factors and he couldn't know if he was doing it right, as much as he resigned to try.

"It's alright if you're nervous." Chuck must have noticed him shaking, even though he didn't respond. "There's no formula for this, so just do what you think is right."

Ciel nodded. Then again. Then again. He tightened a fist. "Right. I will. I need to do this."

Chuck returned to his side of the arena and signaled that they were about to resume. A flash of red revealed the Pokémon Ciel was expecting. The Gym Leader's partner, Poliwrath, announced its challenge by crashing its fists together. Gold screamed for the battle to resume.

Ciel knew he still had the Type advantage, but Scyther had already taken two massive hits. He ordered his Pokémon to use Quick Attack. All four of Scyther's wings beat once, as powerfully as they could manage, and sent the Pokémon flying across the arena to lash out one blade against his opponent.

"Hydro Pump!" Chuck called.

Poliwrath's swirling pattern twisted around on itself and erupted in a long-range torrent of water. Scyther's attack had no time to connect—the rushing liquid washed over him, stopped him in his tracks, and sent him sprawling on the mat. Ciel hadn't considered Poliwrath having special attacks up its sleeve. Still, the information gained was useful, and when Ciel noticed Scyther slumping, he realized it was time to switch.

"Scyther, that's enough," Ciel said. He recalled his active Pokémon and sent him to sit with the other spectators. He had some fight left in him, judging by his annoyed trot out of the ring, but he'd have to be a last resort.

His obvious first choice was Clovis, who also had direct Type advantage to Fighting, but he was also his weakest Pokémon physiologically. Hector could match Poliwrath's sheer bulk even if his armor would crack from solid punches. He could announce one other Pokémon on his team by League Rules, but it was difficult to choose.

Raven made his choice for him by strolling across the remaining chunks of ice and planting herself in front of him. He was speechless. She bared her sickle and her teeth, and she shifted the position of her feet, ready to pounce.

He didn't have time to question as the battle never paused. Chuck had already ordered his Poliwrath to use Dynamic Punch. Any Fighting-type move could rip into Raven if Ciel didn't keep her out of harm's way, so he prepared to order her to dodge. However, Poliwrath struck the ground. The impact shattered any remaining ice, shards sent airborne, and the ground seemed to swirl underneath Ciel's feet.

"Hydro Pump again, Poliwrath!" Chuck shouted. His Pokémon unloaded another torrent and it caught falling shards in its wake.

"Detect!" called Ciel. A few shards struck Raven before she faded into her own afterimage and reappeared to Ciel's right side. As Poliwrath recuperated from the expulsion of water, Raven approached low and charged her blade in anticipation. Ciel continued, "Night Slash!"

She cut clean through and Ciel could tell the Dark type move exhausted her opponent as it phased through his body. Poliwrath barely slowed and a fist was already flying when Raven turned back to face it. She took the blow to her side and skidded across the floor, tearing into the mat with her claws to slow her flight.

Poliwrath was a brick wall, just like its Trainer, and though Raven had an advantage in speed, she wouldn't be able to outlast it. Already, she was panting. She glanced to Ciel for his reaction and he swallowed the lump in his throat.

Chuck ordered another full-power attack. "Grapple and use Seismic Toss."

Ciel scanned his options for a split-second. He said, "Use Quick Attack to dive between its legs!"

Raven powered her legs and blurred her body as she poured all her energy into her legs. She dove under the attacking creature, just barely escaping its monstrous grasp, and rolled to a stand on the other side. He called her back to him to give them space.

"Why are you doing this, Raven?" he asked. "I understand if you don't trust me."

She growled and stepped forward again. He prepared to command as she stalked around Poliwrath, who waited for his own orders. Chuck appeared to be studying the two and crossed his arms, tapping one finger on the other forearm.

Ciel sighed and fell into his own fighting stance. He had no reason, but he needed to dampen everything going through his mind and focus on the battle alone. They couldn't stay up-close, because there was no way to slow Chuck's Poliwrath down—judging by Chuck's patience, he was counting on that strength—but Raven didn't have ranged attacks. He could try hit-and-run tactics with Quick Attack to wear it down.

He stopped himself. They had to hold back and only move in with a plan.

Chuck ordered yet another Hydro Pump, which Raven easily sidestepped at their distance. Ciel stared Poliwrath up and down. Two front-facing eyes slanted in determination, and what looked like small nostrils sat just below. When it had turned around to deliver that first punch, its back was completely ordinary, solid blue with no outlying features. The rest of its sensory information had to be contained in that swirling organ on the front, and it was _big._ Its primary sense had to be sound like other Water-type Pokémon.

"Raven," Ciel said, "I need to you scrape one of your claws against your sickle. As hard as you can. Now!"

She stared at him, but she touched one of her claws to the blade. With all her might, she applied pressure until it slipped. An ear-piercing sound resonated around the Gym walls and stunned every living creature within. Ciel's gambit succeeded. Poliwrath had nearly doubled over with the direct hit to its senses, and though Chuck ordered it to get to its feet, it was temporarily incapacitated.

Ciel threw his arm forward and commanded, "Use Night Slash!"

Chuck shouted in vain for his Pokémon to come to, and the creature lashed out with one fist, but Raven ran another direct attack through her opponent. It punched again and barely missed. He said, "Retreat, Raven!"

Poliwrath recovered quicker than either of them expected. Just as she was about to be clear, the muscled creature managed to lash out a fist and slam into her. She howled and barely picked herself up to return to her Trainer's side of the field. She was limping. Chuck decided he'd had enough and ordered the Pokémon forward to finish her. "Superpower."

Ciel couldn't risk it. She couldn't take anymore. She couldn't end up like Arden. He ordered her to switch and exit the battlefield, because Scyther could probably take a more advantageous position and pull them to victory somehow.

Raven faced him, baring her sickle. He blinked, and when his eyes opened, she hadn't moved from her combat position and sat in wait of the attack looming over her. She refused to back down against the overwhelming foe and Ciel slotted the final piece of the puzzle he hadn't seen before. He needed her to trust him again and she needed to feel his trust as well. They were partners.

Ciel's voice cracked with his next command. "Repeat Night Slash! Any opening!"

Raven jumped right at the oncoming fist, which seemed to magnify in size as loomed closer. She cranked her head to the side, and with her vertical blade, wedged it between two of Poliwrath's clenched fingers. Her entire body pivoted around that point and she swung into the air. Poliwrath's fist crashed into the ground.

Dark energy sprung to life on her blade—it was more violent than ever before and lashed out like pure black lightning. The entire exchange happened in barely a second, and by the time Poliwrath realized he'd missed his mark, Raven's blade was already swinging. The concentrated energy exploded on contact.

Raven landed exhausted on her feet, while her opponent collapsed face-down onto the battlefield. Ciel noticed Chuck's shoulders relax. From the sidelines, Gold cheered, "The Gym Leader's Pokémon is unable to battle! Please send in your—wait, it's two-on-two. My man Ciel wins!"

All the adrenaline, all the doubt, all the racing thoughts, they disappeared instantly and Ciel swayed on his feet. Gold ran towards him and grabbed his shoulders before he could fall, expositing about how cool that battle was, and how he had no idea what happened at the end. In his defense, Ciel barely registered how it had concluded. It happened too fast.

Chuck recalled Poliwrath and wished him a good rest. He offered Ciel a large hand when they met in the center of the ring. When Ciel took it, he didn't know what reaction he expected, but it wasn't intrigue.

"Why'd you keep using Night Slash, kid? All Pokémon know some basic Normal-type attacks, and no Trainer relies on minimal Type coverage." Chuck raised an eyebrow, a bemused expression adorning him. "You could have ended the battle a lot quicker."

"Well, I…" he paused for a minute. He hadn't even done it consciously, but he knew why. "I learned a while ago that Dark moves don't bleed. After Scyther landed that first hit, I think I just didn't want any of your Pokémon to get hurt."

Chuck paused. He drew back and laughed and laughed and laughed. It was a belly laugh, drawn from deep in his core, and a powerful one. Ciel felt an embarrassed heat in his cheeks. The man placed another hand on his shoulder. "A true martial artist knows how to keep his opponent safe, too. I was supposed to drill that into you next, but I guess our training is over at this point."

"I did okay?" he asked.

Chuck retrieved something else from his gi and pressed it into Ciel's hand. The Cianwood Gym's Storm Badge, shaped like an abstract fist.

Ciel held it between two fingers and turned it around. He said, "I lost my badge case."

"Don't worry about it, kid. The, uhh, the badges are just for show. We put in our registrars that you beat us, and you can buy new ones for about ₽200 a piece."

Gold pulled out his own badge case and frowned. He dumped the four objects onto the floor. "Darn. I was really hoping to pawn these for extra cash."

"I've been talking to your mom," Chuck said. "She and your dad have been putting stuff together to get you back on your feet, like ordering you a new Trainer Card. Kori said she tried to stay hands-off, but they've been worried to hell and back about you."

"She's probably pissed I haven't called her," he said, absentmindedly. He looked back to his Pokémon on the sidelines to see Raven asleep in guard of Arden again. He wasn't naive enough to think it was over, but he was indebted to her for at least giving him that chance to try.

"Let's go home, you two. You planning to stay for a while, Hibiki?" Chuck asked.

"I have to wait for two more friends to get here, and that might be a few days. Plus, I gotta fight you too," said Gold.

"You can hole up with me and the kid," the Gym leader said. "Aki and I'll get a meal cooking for the three of us. It's a few solid hours I can use to talk to her about a few things."

Ciel nodded. He tapped his feet, bouncing off one onto the other, not really jumping, but never stopping. He was tired as he'd ever been, but at the same time, he was so fired up. He could start running and never stop even though his body told him to shut down. He only matched the warmth in his chest by slowly scooping his arms under Arden and pulling him close. The Pokémon peeked his eyes open, but upon seeing his face, relaxed back into peaceful sleep.

The rest of his team collected and out of the Gym behind Chuck and Gold, who had gone ahead. Though she refused to meet his eye, Raven stayed by his side—or maybe Arden's—as they moved. When he locked the door behind them, he noticed something he missed on the way in. A poster was planted on the door, slanted slightly to the right, and on it the text was haphazard.

" _Wadō-ryū_ classes available. See inside for details," Ciel read to himself. He stopped his loitering when Gold called his name and ran to join them.

* * *

A horn roared to fill the Cianwood sky as the barge pulled into the harbor. To Ciel's left and right, dock workers signaled to the ship's crew and to themselves to prepare it to dock. His hands were shoved into his pockets to keep himself cold among the thin layer of mist rising off the water, though he wished for a jacket. It was deep into November and it would get colder from there.

"Why do we have to wake up so _early_?" groaned Gold, who bent over himself. "They weren't on the last five boats, so why do you guess they'll be on this one?"

"Gut feeling," he said.

"Lucky. My gut feeling is heavy and bloated. I ate too much. Your parents make some good food."

"They aren't my parents," Ciel insisted. Gold coughed something under his breath, but another horn sounded before he could respond, and passengers began to disembark the shuttle. A few minutes of pushing and shoving later, Ciel knew it was another dud and had to put up with Gold's disappointed passive aggression.

A sun hat appeared over the deck. Crystal announced her presence with a smile and a wave and then proceeded to slip and tumble down the moist stairs. She fell right into Gold's arms.

"Miss me, darling?" he asked.

"Against my better judgement." She planted both hands on Gold's face and pushed hard enough to dislodge herself, then turned to Ciel. She looked him up and down. "You aren't anything like the person on the phone."

He smiled. "I've had a lot of help."

"Are your Pokémon safe?" she asked. He watched Gold offer her back a Poké GEAR.

Ciel displayed all five of his Poké Balls to convey. All his Pokémon, however, were sleeping at Chuck and Aki's house, as he didn't want to get them up earlier than necessary. They weren't in any hurry.

"Did you find Silver? I absolutely didn't!" said Gold.

Crystal explained the whole story, back to front. When she talked about Silver, the tone of her voice was different, softer, than he remembered from Goldenrod—they were barely on neutral terms then, he judged. After her short diversion to the Whirl Islands, she'd been forced to ship back to Olivine and then to Cianwood, delaying her arrival by a few days.

Ciel asked, "We'll head to Mahogany to find him?"

"Yeah. From there, we'll take the fight to the Rockets, but in his own words, there's no telling when," Crystal said.

"Doesn't matter. I have some business there myself outside the Gym Challenge." Ciel gripped the broken Poké GEAR on his wrist. "And I'll pay the Rockets back for threatening my sister."

"Then it's settled. Once Gold and I can get our own badges here, we'll ship back to Olivine and get moving." She stepped past him, but she wrapped her arms around him for a few moments. "I'm glad you're okay."

As they walked back into Cianwood, he left Gold and Crystal to their conversation. Ciel turned on his Poké GEAR and prayed for it to be functional. It flickered on shortly and he navigated into his contacts. A few more missed voicemails from his father. A spam of messages from Kris. What mattered most at that moment, however, were the missed calls from Brent. The busted device had probably stopped receiving correctly because they were dated from weeks before.

Four months was the pact he'd made, and November was almost upon them. He didn't mean to break that promise, but there was nothing he could do about it now but swallow his pride and hit call. The line buzzed, then beeped, then rung. One ring, then another, then another.

The line connected. _"Hello? Ciel? Ciel! How are you doing?"_

"Hey, man," he said softly. "I didn't want this to be the first thing I called you for, but I think I'm gonna miss our meeting."

He wasn't expecting the friendly laugh that followed. The line crackled, and nearly died, but when it faded in again, Brent said, _"Don't worry one bit, Ciel, because I'll be late too. You would not believe what I've been up to."_

"Tell me about it."

* * *

 **We're over the two-third points and there are exactly ten chapters left in this story! I'm excited just thinking about pulling this to a conclusion. Especially because this is another conclusive chapter, it had a palpable energy behind it that's getting me fired up. There are a few issues I have with the "Cianwood Training" story arc, which I'll probably include in a final chapter author's note, but I think it's pretty good overall.**

 **This is the first true Pokémon battle in about nine chapters or so. I felt like I was having trouble integrating narrative beats because I had fallen out of practice doing it, but my cowriter pushed me on, and I was able to put together some good material. I also find it humorous to note that this is the third chapter in a row where there's a sad hug.**

 **The next chapter… is a surprise. Chapter 26: No Pressure goes live on October 18th. Come back soon!**


	26. No Pressure

**This story is co-developed and edited by Titan127.**

 **Disclaimer: Pokémon is a registered property of Nintendo, the Pokémon Company, and GameFreak. This work respectfully uses the world and characters of the Pokémon series, with no intent of harm on the original creators. Please support the official releases of the Pokémon franchise.**

 **Chapter 26: No Pressure (5,929 words)**

* * *

Fifteen to a classroom didn't seem like much until you factored in each student's daily partner.

Christine Masuta sat shoulders high, hands resting on her lap, smile on her face. Her suit jacket, vest, and skirt were pristine, her hair was done up with scented spray, and every few minutes, she'd readjust her tie to ensure she looked her best. She kept her breathing to a low, steady rhythm.

The Pokémon to her posterior yawned a small burst of fire towards the ceiling, and while the teacher's back was turned to the board, she whipped around. Kris hissed through her teeth, "Zara, quit it! We're model students, got it?"

Her Charizard crossed her arms and huffed another wisp into her face. She pointed a scolding finger at her partner, and after patting around her head to make sure nothing caught, she turned back to the lesson. Fortunately, their instructor hadn't yet finished the timeline he was sketching on the electronic whiteboard.

Plateau Senior High School was the finest—and most expensive—educational institution in the Nihon Macro-Region. Keeping classes below twenty allowed them to accommodate Pokémon into the educational process. Her current lecture hall was arc shaped, each student facing the board in a slight curve, and the space behind them hosted a large mat for active Pokémon. They were required to bring their team in rotation. For her, Fridays were Zara Days. A Turtonater to her left had retreated into its shell to rest, while the Carnivine to her right was hanging off custom handlebars attached to the ceiling.

Professor Reikishi turned back to the class and slapped the board with his pointer. "To cap off our anthropological unit, we'll take the next few days to cover the twenty-first century, and then we'll start again with the history of Pokémon. Who here has studied this topic before?"

No one else spoke up, but she noticed in her periphery that some of the students were staring, expecting. She raised her hand. He circled a few specific points on the timeline, which only spanned ten years. "Can anyone tell me the greatest financial disaster of this decade?"

Kris's hand stayed. No one else knew the answer, and Professor Reikishi had no choice but to pick her.

"The Hoenn Floods of 2007," she said. "The total property and infrastructure damage amounted to about three trillion Pokedollars in damage."

"Correct," said the Professor, who added the event to the timeline. "And do you know the cause of these floods, Miss Masuta?"

"Climate change is causing extreme weather events to more frequent and more dangerous." Though, some debate whether those floods were simply a once-in-a-millennia outlier. She'd seen substantial support on both sides.

"As expected from the best in our class," he said. A couple students whispered between each other. She tried to ignore it.

"One of the primary global issues we humans will face in the twenty-first century is our effect on the environment. This is one reason the Pokémon League has opposed human expansion outside of established cities for the past fifty years, alongside the protection of Pokémon in their vast natural habitats." As he explained, he paced before the board and scanned his eyes across the line of students vying for his attention. She was the one he most frequently stopped on.

He jotted down a few more important events on the timeline as a prelude for the upcoming lesson. He circled the year 2001 and wrote "January 1st" directly below it.

"The incorporation of the Orre Region into the Pokémon League's Region System coincided with the beginning of the new millennium. This is been a focus of political turmoil for the past decade, so we'll also be studying its consequences for a few lessons," he said. "Open your readings for the day and we'll begin."

Kris angled her tablet upward and switched it on. She swiped her fingers a few times to pull up the digital texts they were supplied. She fixed her tie again. Immediately, she was transfixed. Nothing could distract her from learning all she could. She couldn't afford not to.

* * *

Even first-class got old after flying so many times. This time, it was League Airlines Flight 21, service from Indigo Municipal Airport to Lily of the Valley International. She was hot off her track meet when she boarded, so all she had was her sweaty shorts, dirty jersey, and deactivated Poké Balls. The flight staff of this line knew the drill by then—when her in-flight meal arrived, they provided an air freshener as well.

She pulled out her tablet and flipped through her daily assignments while she ate. She said, between bites, "U-subs, got it. Problems one through twenty-five. No sweat."

Kris grabbed the styles and worked against what she was given. Simple formula: define u, derive, then substitute and simplify where you can. If only it stayed simple. The later problems ground the gears in her head, and she scratched out five whole attempts on one. She couldn't wait to practice for hours and hours for next week's exam, only to have a random student insinuate she didn't need to try. Kris found herself squeezing the life out of the biscuit in her left hand.

Tearing through her homework was an easy way to pass the six-hour trip. Of course, with the time zone change, she'd only lose a few hours of local time. People kept telling her to watch for jet lag, but neither she nor her brother came out of their visits feeling tired.

Her Pokétch rang. She opened the call and was greeted to her mother's shining face and platinum-blonde hair. The woman spoke in Sinnohan. _"Hey there, hun!"_

"Hey, Mom!" Kris replied. "I'm on my way over now. I think I'm an hour and a half out and we'll touch down at 7:30."

" _Wasn't it your brother's turn?"_

"He's busy working on his thesis, so I'm coming in place," she said. Behind her mother, she spied reflective black paneling and neon lights, which pulsed on a beat. "Are you still in the battle chamber?"

" _Yep. We had a challenger come through here a little while ago. He managed to knock out everyone except Jeb and Kiki, so he had me on the ropes,"_ her mother said. That was her Spiritomb and Garchomp, if she remembered correctly.

Kris put on a sly face. "Were you worried?"

" _You know the answer to that."_ The backdrop began to shift behind her as she rode a platform elevator to the base of the facility. Someone else joined her when it came to a short stop, and though she couldn't see whom, the person had a soft, masculine voice. She said, _"If anything, I'm just glad I'm not alone up here."_

"What about dad?"

" _He's only beaten me once, and I won't let it happen again. It's a good motivating tool for the both of us,"_ she said. Her mother laughed at something her acquaintance said offscreen. _"Lucian's got a point. In a few years, you and Saber will give me a better challenge."_

Right. No one had ever considered otherwise. She'd become the the strongest Trainer on the planet without breaking a sweat. "Hey, I think I need to get back to my homework."

" _Oh, right, sorry. I didn't mean to bother you,"_ her mother said. She scratched the back of her head. _"Love you, and I'll see you soon."_

"See you soon, mom." Kris ended the call, powered off her Pokétch, and turned right back to the problems. They stressed her out more than before, and every time she scrapped an incorrect solution, she swore under her breath. She just needed to try harder. It was natural.

* * *

"You're go for special combination number five! Fire it up!" Kris announced from the sidelines. She ducked behind the plate-glass paneling.

Axe flexed his outer plates. Her Haxorus was a powerful yet slender Dragon-type Pokémon, covered in overlapping, dark-yellow sections, accented by a black underbody. The creature had a long tail and an equally long neck that terminated with his namesake tusks.

First, he performed Dragon Dance. His body swirled with red wisps that seeped upwards from the ground. The Dragon Clan's tradition claimed that draconic energy was borrowed from the planet itself, and by its sheer power, she could believe it. Normally, it would be absorbed directly into Axe's body to supercharge himself, but the second part of the combination was Dragon Pulse.

Axe expelled all his energy at once before the Dragon Dance could be absorbed. The floating energy exploded outward, and even through the shielding, its overwhelming power washed over her. Kris's hair stood on end.

The facility they stood in was one of many training centers in the Sinnoh Pokémon League complex. The walls were reinforced with metal plating, and the room itself had shock absorption separate from the rest of the building, not to mention barriers like the one she stood behind to protect Trainers while their Pokémon went all out.

She leaned out from behind the glass and gave a thumbs up. "Do it again!"

The Pokemon charged up for a second burst. They were trying to work around his dependence on physical combat, and though they couldn't easily improve his natural affinity for special moves, they could improvise. The energy of Dragon Dance existed for a short time in free-floating form, and when he expelled it, it amplified his Dragon Pulse beyond his normal level.

Kris's Pokétch buzzed and she checked her text log. One-hundred notifications from at least thirty people had come through during their training session alone. A few of her classmates asked for help on recent assignments and she answered those as best she could between ordering her Haxorus to repeat the combination attack. Some more were just making casual conversation—even some people she wasn't fond of—and one that caught her eye forwarded her a web link.

The title read "Top Ten Rising Trainers to Watch For". It was a Grand Axis sportscasting agency predicting the 57th World Trial. She scrolled down to the bottom of the list, and in the number one spot, her own face stared back from a photo she almost certainly didn't consent to being taken. Kris expected nothing else.

Axe was winded when she returned her attention, so she held up a hand. She walked over to him and rubbed a hand along the base of his neck to soothe him. "I knew it would take a lot out of you, since you're still not used to special attacks. If you're ready for a break, go ahead."

The Pokémon leaned his neck over and rested his forehead against hers. Due to the angle, one of his tusks cut along her cheek. She didn't flinch. He excused himself to go sit behind another section of paneling, where the rest of her team sat in waiting for their own training sessions. She shouted that it was Leo's turn.

* * *

"Hey, I'm home!" Kris announced. No one answered. She took off her shoes and thick jacket after closing the door and tossed them in a haphazard pile.

She stepped through the house. It wasn't _her_ house as much as it wasn't her mother's. Buying a house close to the Sinnoh League on Lily of the Valley Island gave any of their family a place to rest if they happened to be stopping by, but no one stayed there for any extended period.

Kris walked under the stairs and passed into the dining room, where her mother was at the whims of a phone call with various paperwork strewn between the plates and cutlery. The woman met her eye and signaled with one finger. She kept talking as if nothing had happened.

Kris slipped on some house slippers, opened the patio door, and stepped out to meet her mother's team in the atrium. They'd built the house around a small artificial forest to give their Pokémon a more suitable home habitat. It was difficult enough to accommodate a single physiologically unique creature in a human living space, let alone six or more.

Kiki noticed her first and descended upon her. Her mother's Garchomp was a giant creature, covered in spines and fins, and anyone else might have been intimidated seeing her tower over them. Kris knew better. The Pokémon wrapped her rough-skinned, brachial fins around the girl and smothered her gently.

"Hey there." Kris grinned wide and reached upwards to rub the star pattern on Kiki's snout. "It's been a little while, huh?"

Kiki's response could only be described as a purr. It was a low, repeating noise, a rumble of sorts, which she assumed was used for acoustic location when her species dug underground. The vibrations helped push back against the freezing Sinnohan breeze. She nudged Kiki to open and stepped back.

Kris retrieved her Poké Balls and released the five Pokémon in her current possession. Zara, Axe, Leo, Rei, and Eve lit up the atrium in a red flash. Leo, her Heliolisk, fell flat onto his stomach once he materialized due to being recalled in an awkward position.

"Alright, you know the drill. Use the UV room any time you need, especially since it's getting really cold." Kris pointed to the oversized door flap, rubber-sealed and paint-chipped. It was large enough that even Kiki could fit through. She said, "If you decide to come through the rest of the house, try not to make a mess. Okay? Break!"

Her Pokémon set upon themselves to find what was most comfortable. Axe dove into a burrow pre-dug by Kiki to the senior Pokémon's irritation. Her Seviper, Eve, slithered for the UV room, and when the flap opened, she spied her mother's Roserade already inside. Kris almost tripped over a rock on the way back inside. A ghastly figure rose from its depths to give her a dirty look. She just waved, stepped into the house with chills, and pulled the main door closed.

"Sorry I couldn't get home early today. The Elite Four had me stay for some ceremonial crap," her mother said. The phone was silent on the table.

"What was that, then?" Kris asked.

"Oh, that's something else. Cassius is sending me—you know Cassius, right? Albert Cassius? He's my team's field lead and we've opened a new dig site near Snowpoint, so I'm doing a back-and-forth." She took a bite from her meal, which she hadn't touched prior. Kris sat down across from her where another full dinner was already assembled. Soft potatoes, some ocean Pokémon in white cream sauce, and three different vegetables. The cup of water might have had ice once.

They ate without a word, and between bites, her mother tore into whatever she was working on with a pen. The papers were covered in black-and-white photos and figures. The food was delicious as usual even if it was cold. Kris spied some cooking utensils strewn across the counter and wondered when her mother had time to cook between work.

Every time she tried to make conversation the words died in her mouth. There's was just nothing interesting to bring up, nothing new that mattered. Maybe it's because it was late.

Her mother suddenly pushed all her paperwork off the table. The entire pile toppled over and swayed in a flurry before settling gently to the floor. She accidentally knocked an empty glass over as well and it shattered across the kitchen floor. Kris jumped. Her mother stared her right in the face.

"Let's go out tomorrow," she said. It was dead serious.

"Oh... okay?" Kris took a hesitant bite of potato.

"I mean, really." The woman rubbed her temples with her fingers pressed together. "I'm going to call in sick and we'll head into the city and find something fun to do. Anything to get me away from the Pokémon League for a while."

Two men in heavy body armor burst into the kitchen, Poké Balls brandished. They scanned the area shortly before turning attention to the two of them. One said, "Mrs. Masuta, is everything alright?"

"We heard a crash," the other said.

Her mother chuckles. "Sorry, sorry. I just knocked a cup over. Didn't mean to get you two worked up."

The shorter of the two guards hung his head. The taller one saluted, and without another word, they both disappeared back towards the front door. Their footsteps were eerily silent. Neither of them took their eyes off the guards until they were out of sight.

"What do you say?" asked her mother. "Have you gotten your homework done? Are you keeping up with training?"

She had so much to do. She was barely finished her calculus, and she still had two papers to write before next week. Kris couldn't afford to fall behind. Despite that, she said, "Is there an indoor waterpark downtown?"

"I think so," her mother said. There was an underlying excitement. "I haven't been swimming in years. And we could get pastries! I've been pining for something sweet."

Kris was getting excited herself. She added, "I'll check for some cool restaurants. Can we get lunch after?"

"Let's make a whole day out of it. Get to bed, because we're getting up early and taking the monorail down. And we'll take everyone with us."

She glanced through the glass to all her Pokémon relaxing in the apiary. Everyone but Zara and her mother's Togekiss and Lucario had since retreated to the UV room. They'd been training just as hard as she's been working, and her mother too. They could all use a break. However, age-old doubts ran through her mind and caused her expression to drop.

"Actually," Kris started, sheepishly, "I think I've got to stay in. I've just got a lot of work to do and I need the extra time."

She saw her mother's own smile falter and she fell back into her seat. She nodded silently to herself. "No, you're right. It'd be irresponsible of me to slack like that and the League wouldn't let me forget it."

"Maybe next time?" Kris asked.

"Yeah. Next time." The woman wished her goodnight and excused herself from the table, having already finished her dinner. She collected her paperwork from the floor and disappeared towards her room. Kris finished her cold meal alone.

* * *

" _I was guided here to meet you, Maria,"_ said Antonio. _"In the end, we're were both wandering, weren't we?_

The spirit guide waggled its tail. It took the form of a Smeargle to paint a path for those it led through the afterlife. The two before it shared one memory above all—an amusement park, a ferris wheel, and an ice cream cone. They had died the same day.

Tears streaked down Maria's face, yet she couldn't have felt happier. She took Antonio's hands in hers, shaking as if afraid they would simply pass through each other. "I'm so glad you came back."

Antonio pointed to the guide. _"We can't stay here. This world isn't ours anymore, and I'm here to take you to the afterlife. Will you come with me?"_

With the paints of its tail, the spirit guide drew a gate leading beyond. The empty park was dead in the night while everlasting life shone from inside the painted doorway. Tugging gently on her hand, he led her to the border between realms.

" _I was afraid, if I left, I'd leave this memory of you behind. But, if we're together, we can make new memories,"_ Maria said.

" _Yes, Maria. We can."_

The two lovers pulled each other close. In their embrace, they brought themselves together and their lips locked. Their deep kiss lasted as long as the life they spent together. They faded through the gate, and with one last glance to the camera, the spirit guide waved himself and the gate from existence.

Kris clapped with the theater as the lights brightened and the credits rolled. She nudged her upper cheeks with her knuckles to ward away the wisps of moisture threatening to break out. The boy sitting to her right was full-out bawling, as was probably half the theater. She had to lead him outside.

"I thought you didn't want to see something sappy," Kris said. She angled his shoulders and pushed a hand into his back to move him.

"I know." He spoke between sniffs. "I knew I couldn't handle it. It was so… _beautiful._ "

"We'll see an action movie next time, champ."

For some reason, her words made him perk up immediately. They exited the theater and descended the wide stone steps it sat on. It was late afternoon on Sunday after she'd flown back from Sinnoh that morning. She had wholly forgotten the date she'd planned until he texted to remind her. It was eating up her time to get schoolwork and training done. She couldn't imagine the stares if she turned something in late, or if she ever lost a class spar.

They piled into his car and drove off. As rich as her parents were, none of them owned cars themselves, and Kris had no incentive to apply for a license. Pokémon Trainers had better ways to get around. She ran a finger along the fine synthetic leather, a sleek black in color, and stretched her legs as far as she could manage.

"So, umm, you said you wanted to see something else next time? Any ideas?" he asked.

Oh. Kris should have held her tongue. It's not that she didn't like him. He's one of few students in her class that didn't immediately come off as a spoiled rich kid, and he'd taken the courage to ask her out. People seemed scared to even approach her sometimes, as if she wasn't living in the same world, so it was endearing that he ignored her reputation in favor of _her._

Still, she had so much to do. She couldn't distract herself from schoolwork for a second, and an entire world was counting on her to be ready for the next World Trial, and she already kept up with so many people, and she traveled so often. She wasn't ready for it yet.

"I had a great time today. I really did," she said, seeing a smile curl on his face with her words. She beat herself up for giving him false hopes. "But I don't think it's going to work out. I've got a lot going on. Sorry."

He kept his eyes on the road, but his spirit visibly dropped. He didn't bother a response, and though the rest of the drive back was awkward, she knew he accepted the answer. When they pulled up to Indigo League's gate, he met her with the face of the classmate she knew before. She waved him away as he drove off and dragged herself across the mall to the Indigo League complex. She left no footprints in the finely trimmed grass.

Guards checked her in at the entrance and she stepped into the lobby. The interior never failed to take her breath away. It was like a grand hotel—every surface was fine maroon and trimmed with gold. Entire trees were planted inside and soaked in rays from the massive glass skylight. Digital displays along the walls flashed information that kept the Regions running. Stocks, news, flight listings, web traffic, government transcripts, everything.

A billowing cloak stole the show. As usual, he was surrounded by reporters and rubbernecking civilians alike. Kris raced up to the second floor to see what all the fuss was about and forced her way through the crowd to meet her father. His entourage of personal escorts kept the crowd at bay.

His attire consisted of a black unitard, high boots, and a belted tunic. Atop were two more layers, one a draped poncho with a wide collar and the other his cloak, held to his body by plate shoulder guards. This was the traditional attire of the Blackthorn Dragon Clan. Even more visually grabbing was his pure red hair.

One of the guards parted to let her past, causing reporters to shout and grumble and snap photos. The man noticed her immediately as she broke through the circle. "Ah, Kris! I was wondering when you'd be back. Did you have fun with your mom?"

Kris gave a half-hearted answer. She looked past the man two see two well-dressed men, one tall and another short. The tall one's head of teal popped in contrast to his ill-fitting, black suit.

Her father motioned to them, and it was clear they were in the middle of a conversation. Kris was about to step away so as not to interrupt, but he introduced them. "Gentlemen, if you haven't already, meet my daughter Christine. Kris, these two are members of League's Archive Committee."

She put forward a hand, realizing she didn't have a choice. They each gave a shake. The shorter one had rounded cheeks and a bright smile that put her at ease, though he appeared to have a painful crook in his back. He said, "I'm Ishō. I've heard a lot about you. You're going to be taking part in the next World Trial, right?"

"My name's Tom," said the taller one when he took her hand. He passed his trembles right through her. Maybe he was starstruck by her father's presence, or maybe it was a neural condition, but it sat in the back of her mind. She frowned at him and he let go. And what was that stench?

"Mr. Ishō is actually the newest member of the committee. There was a special appointment a couple months ago. And Tom is your…" Her father paused.

"Intern," said Mr. Ishō. Tom shifted on his feet. "He gets some credit out of it."

"We're just talking about migrating the archive," said her father. "All the sample Pokémon stored in the vault are being transferred to a more up-to-date PC server, since the old one's been in use nearly as long as the PC system itself."

Ishō leaned in close to the man. "Sir, that's supposed to be confidential."

"She's my daughter. You can trust her."

Kris had already tuned out. She decided to let the adults speak since they were speaking for her. Her presence was soon forgotten entirely, and she stepped back through the crowd to go find her personal quarters. Some reporters broke away and shoved microphones in her face to try to squeeze information out of her, but she readied a Poké Ball in her hand. It was empty, as all of her Pokémon were already active at the League's daycare, but her point was made. They backed off.

She pressed the button for the main elevator, and when the door opened, she stepped inside and swiped her Trainer Card. The device cleared her for the personnel floor.

She rode the silent elevator. She traced a finger where the crack of the door should have been and found nothing. It closed so tightly that, aside from the buttons, it looked like an inescapable metal box. Her foot taps reverberated with a metallic tone.

As soon as the door cracked, she burst out in a full-speed sprint through the glass hallways. One League employee bent over to tie his shoes and Kris vaulted clear over him. She slammed down her right foot at an angle to make a hard left. She sped faster and faster towards the wide doors at the end of the corridor. The Champion's suite.

Kris punched through the doors and jumped. She hoisted herself right over the top of the couch and slammed down onto the cushions. She landed with enough force to make the entire object tremble.

"Ah!" shouted the person already sitting on the couch. "Don't do that!"

Kris snickered and then broke into full laughter. Saber grabbed her by the sides, and she felt her bearings disappear as he hoisted her over his head. She flailed her limbs wildly, but nothing could break his iron grip. "Put me down, put me down!"

"Only if you promise not to mess with me again, you ruffian," he said. She couldn't see from her angle, but she knew he was trying to suppress a grin.

"You know I can't make that promise. It's too fun."

He dropped her back onto the couch. She got a good look at his face. His hair was wild as ever, like a fiery aura enveloping him, though he usually kept his beard a little more in check. He must have been having a rough couple of weeks himself. Library tomes were stacked next to his seat and one was splayed in his lap, and even more were piled around the suite. They nearly obscured the panel window that overlooked the entire plateau.

"Still working on your thesis?" she asked. Kris grabbed one of the dusty books and felt around its ridged cover. The pages were yellowed with at least a century of age and she was afraid the paper would disintegrate under her touch.

"The archive granted me access to the pre-war section. A few research publications, but more importantly, novels from before Kanto and Johto united."

"Anything of interest?"

Saber shrugged and closed the one in front of him to set it back on the stack. He said, "It's a mystery I have yet to solve! I have stacks of notes, but I'd need to do direct comparisons between classics and modern books."

Saber's thesis, he'd explained to her, was about how differences in Kantoese and Johtoan create separate cultural myth. The two languages had different scripts despite being nearly phonetically identical, and he'd explained that he wanted to find out what the effects of their respective rules were. She spoke and wrote both languages fluently, but she'd never considered whether using one or the other actively changed her perspective.

"But anyway! How's your day?" he asked.

"I don't want to go to school tomorrow. I don't want to do anything next week. I still have papers due Friday that I'm not finished and there's a big track event this week and I've got an exam," she said. Kris leaned backwards on the couch and groaned.

That's no attitude to have! Tomorrow should always be better than today, because you made it happen," he said.

She stared at him and his non-negotiable confidence. He was probably drowning in work, day in and day out, yet he acted like nothing even bothered him. The exact same pressures on her were on him as well. He was on the same stage as their parents at the World Trial after his debut earlier that year, but how could he hope to match the two greatest Trainers on the planet? And how could he balance that with college research?

"How do you do it?" she asked him. "It seems like everywhere I look, they expect me to be as perfect as Mom and Dad. People think the same about you but you never even crack."

"That's simple." Saber poked an index finger to her forehead and let it rest there. "Who else are you going to look up to? When Mom and Dad are busy, I'm all you've got."

She pushed his hand away. "I only look up to you because you're so damn tall. I don't have a choice."

He clapped his hands together. The thunderous sound bounced around the lounge. "Let's both take a break. A couple rounds of _Dragon King_ will bring back your spirit."

She spied two controllers sitting on the TV set. "Only because I'm gonna kick your butt."

"Oh, but I have honed my skills since we last fought. I am a formidable foe!" Saber grabbed them both and tossed her one, which she deftly caught with a single hand.

"You're on, buddy," Kris said.

* * *

Proton was glad he wore the black suit, because aside from the smell, it'd be hard to tell that he'd sweat out half his weight in water. He clasped his hands together in a vain attempt to stop the shaking. Descending the steps in front of the plateau, he trailed behind his "employer". They walked towards the city, and from there, he could spy the abrupt rise of the mountains past the city's edge that made up Victory Road.

"Sheesh, kid. Could you be any more fucking conspicuous?" asked Petrel as he deftly undid his wig, contacts, and makeup to reveal his purple hair and sunken eyes. "It's been months, get over it."

"We just talked to Lance. _Lance_. We're so close to the top of the Pokémon League, all the time. And you didn't give me a wig," Proton said. He squeezed one wrist tightly and managed to reel himself in, if only temporarily.

Petrel grumbled under his breath. "Nobody knows who the fuck you are, _Tom._ I know how to do my job. What are we missing?"

Proton retrieved a small notebook laptop from his jacket. It was purely for data collection on the mission and didn't even have internet capabilities. As if the she-devil hadn't already thrown him into paranoia, he had to deal with the League breathing down his neck. It was between facing them and facing Ariana if anything—absolutely anything—went wrong. He unlocked all seven password screens and began running over the files. The vault access passwords, the floor plan of the whole building, schedules for every worker on staff except the Champion and his bratty kids, security patterns. They were all set for a heist.

"Just, umm, the access codes for the new PC server, which we can't get until the transfer completes," he said.

"You know, I'm still not sure how Archer managed to convince his pal to convince those League assholes they needed an upgrade, but we're in the right spot. We'll keep working with the Committee until then, and we go live the night the new system goes into effect."

"That's pretty soon," Proton said. Shit. That was too soon.

"Once we do this, there's no going back. Ariana knows it. I just want to get this over with and destroy ourselves already."

Petrel led them through some backstreets once they reached the city proper to avoid any unwanted attention. He still hadn't gotten used to the city layout despite operating in and out for a while. It was basically his new home since quitting college. He counted his stacks from the Slowpoke Well job, and the Lake of Rage job, and decided that he didn't need to waste his time.

With some effort, he swallowed the lump in his throat and looked on the bright side. He was better off than most people would be in a lifetime and he never had to worry about anything again. Once he was done this job, and maybe the next, and maybe the next, he'd be free to do whatever he wanted. He just had to finish this, and maybe he'd find a way to escape like Petrel said.

They arrived at the condemned building. It was made of rustic brick, boarded up on all sides, and probably hadn't been occupied for thirty years. It was the perfect hideout.

Petrel pushed the door inside, and hundreds of eyes turned to look at them. In the very front, Squeak and Muscles stood at full attention, as did the countless other grunts awaiting their next order. Some were faceless, others not. They were all the manpower they had to pull this off.

In the darkness of the building, he could only barely see their outlines. However, the shining red "R" symbols were plain as day. They were all that filled Proton's eyes.

* * *

 **Side character sidestory! I'd been planning this for a while and was excited to get it out there. Any opportunity to explore wider reaching worldbuilding is a bonus for me, and I'm glad I can get back to the Rockets. I felt in retrospect that I'd spaced the villain focus too much, not helped that I had to push a few things back due to how the Cianwood Arc ended up. Either way, we're heading towards a finale. Nine chapters left until Anew ends.**

 **November 8th is Chapter 27: Rebirth from Ash. See you later.**


	27. Rebirth From Ash

**This story is co-developed and edited by Titan127.**

 **Disclaimer: Pokémon is a registered property of Nintendo, the Pokémon Company, and GameFreak. This work respectfully uses the world and characters of the Pokémon series, with no intent of harm on the original creators. Please support the official releases of the Pokémon franchise.**

 **Chapter 27: Rebirth From Ash (6,778 words)**

* * *

His feet swayed on the wooden deck and salt swirled past his nose. His wasn't seasick, but he didn't feel well. He narrowed his eyes at the screen of his Poké GEAR to keep everything else out of focus.

Through the flickers of the device, he saw _that_ look. He hadn't called her in literal months, and according to Chuck, she was fully aware of his situation. Maybe it was because Chuck was giving her updates, but there was nothing beyond the look. She didn't shout, she didn't scold, she didn't let him have it. She said, _"I'm really glad you're okay, Ciel."_

"Thanks, Mom. Chuck said you'd been looking out for me."

" _Someone has to. You may be on your own but remember that you can always talk to us—to me—if something comes up."_ There was the scolding, but it was softer. She brushed some hair from her eyes.

Ciel found himself puzzled. She hadn't once attempted to call or message him during his time in Cianwood, and when he finally got around to contacting her, she acted like it was nothing. He remembered that first day in Violet when she tore into him. What had changed? Instead, she'd been leaving it to his father, who had continued sending voicemails every few days.

Maybe that was it. She was trying to give his father a chance. Ciel had listened to the simple messages every night after training and got a slight taste of home. He got to hear what his sister was doing.

"Mom, can you—" She perked up. He forced himself to finish it. "Can you put Dad on?"

" _Why don't you call him yourself?"_ she asked. She paused. _"No, you're right. Give me a second."_

Her mother vacated her seat and disappeared into the house. He had half a mind to end the connection, to take the coward's way out, and wait for an inevitable meeting in Mahogany he wasn't ready for. His heartbeat spiked. He stared at the back wall of his mother's room, where only a faint light filtered through the blinds.

He could hear a short conversation between the thin walls and the clattering of dishware. Some entered the room with an unexpected haste. However, there was no noise when his father sat in front of the laptop. Ciel turned his head away and they let the hundreds of kilometers between them feel real.

" _Hey, Ciel,"_ his father started.

"Hey, hello, err, hi. Dad," Ciel replied. "I've been listening to your voicemails."

" _It might do you some good to actually send one back."_

Ciel said, "As if you even care. You just want to look good for Mom, don't you?"

" _You only called me just to get into a fight. Why am I not surprised?"_ The man angled his brow downward. An impatient tapping on the table was audible, and through another long pause, Ciel struggled to find something to say. The man reached forward to shut the laptop.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait. Please," Ciel pleaded. "Sorry. I shouldn't have said anything. You've been taking Laina around town a lot, right?"

" _Yeah. I like to walk her to the schoolhouse in the mornings when it's not too cold. It's way more relaxing than Goldenrod,"_ he said.

"Is she… safe?" Ciel asked.

" _What exactly are you implying?"_

"No!" Ciel shouted. He could read the impatience, the feeling of insult, on his father's face. Ciel couldn't seem to make any effort without screwing it up. "No. No, that's not what I meant. Has there been anyone suspicious around?"

His father softened his expression and nodded in understanding. _"If there were, I'd be the first one to stand in front of her. She's safe with me."_

"Okay," said Ciel, though his voice shook. "Nice, uhh, nice talking to you."

" _Make sure to check for a package when you get to Olivine,"_ he said.

Ciel ended the call and hung his head. He squeezed one hand around the railing as tight as he could and held his eyes shut. There was no way he'd be ready to go back. But he had to. A deafening horn sounded from atop the vessel's bridge.

Land had been sighted, and Ciel surveyed the metal skyline of Olivine City. He hadn't chanced a good look at its pure majesty before leaving the first time. The lighthouse stood as the city's beacon to his right. To his left, the shipyards came alive with docking ships and spinning cranes. Persistent dark clouds hung over the city.

The scene was familiar. His body shook. One arm twitched as it rested on the boat's railing, and his foot tapped reflexively. He put his head down to avoid it but staring down into the water only brought him further back. Ciel took a deep breath, and then a second, and only after Crystal placed a hand on his shoulder did he even out.

"You're taking this surprisingly well," she said. She pulled down her hand and stood at his side on the railing as they watched the boat bank towards Olivine's ports. She took off her hat and held it to her chest.

"I would have flown if we had a choice." Ciel turned his head back to the gaggle of Pokémon hanging out on the deck. Gold sat cross-legged, exaggerating a story with his arms to an audience of Pokémon including Ciel's five, Crystal's Sunflora and Azumarill, and his own Bayleef and Slowpoke. Everyone else was below deck. He turned back to the Crystal. "I'm glad you guys are here."

"Don't even try to get rid of us until Mahogany," said Crystal. "I'm dedicated to getting the whole team together."

"Is the Rocket Syndicate really there?"

"Silver didn't say exactly. He knows where to find them and something in your town is connected to them, at least. So, that's where we're going."

"Brent said he fought some of them at the Lake of Rage." Ciel's muscles tensed. That woman had threatened his sister's life, and those gangsters might be hiding right under his family's nose. He couldn't allow it. That's why he had to go to Mahogany, not just to meet his father, but to stop the Rockets from coming near his family.

But first, there was something more pressing in front of him. On the shore ahead of him was the battle that knocked he and his Pokémon to rock bottom. The shaking wasn't just from the water, he realized. It was fear at dragging them right back to their destruction. Chuck had convinced him how much progress he made, but that whisper in the back of his mind still lingered, and Raven proved its point.

He stepped away from Crystal to his circle of Pokémon. His Scyther, whom he'd finally the nickname Mantis, shifted aside to let him kneel next to Arden and his adoptive guardian. His Absol immediately turned her head away, and when he inched a hand forward, she growled. He sunk to a sitting position and let Gold's story pass through his ears.

It wasn't fair. Couldn't she see that he was trying? There was only so much he could do to win back her trust, but it's like she purposely turned a blind eye to his attempts. How much was enough before she gave him a second chance?

"Damn it," Ciel muttered. "I think I get it. I don't blame you for not changing your mind, not after that. But if I gave up and never tried, I'll always be the person I was."

She growled again, softer this time. Ciel didn't make another move. He was smiling when he raised his head and he wasn't about to let it slip away. "You remind me of someone, Raven. You two were always pretty stubborn. But when we get to Olivine, I won't let either of you down."

Gold shouted at the top of his lungs. "And then, Marigold lashed out with a devastating Power Whip that knocked the enemy clear out of the ring!"

"She doesn't know Power Whip," Crystal said from the railing.

"A devastating Leaf Blade!" Crystal grumbled something. Marigold slapped him with her leaf for his hubris. "With that, we were victorious in our second tournament match, and I was set to face the world. You won't believe what happens next."

"I was there," said Ciel. "You got knocked out in the third round, just like me."

"Lies! This libel will not stand! Oh, wait, that's print. This slander will not stand!"

Ciel let himself be absorbed into Gold's machinations. Among the waves, it helped keep the smile on his face as he headed towards his battle in Olivine. He'd been traveling and taking the Gym Challenge for over half a year at that point, yet somehow, this felt like his first true test.

* * *

The three trainers heaved together. With all their might, they pushed open the metal slab doors to the Olivine Gym, which scraped along the ground as they gave way. The interior opened to a massive single room like the inside of a warehouse. Reinforced support beams kept afloat the roof and were ready to weather an earthquake. Ciel knew firsthand.

A shimmering energy field drew between the beams as a framework and cast upwards around the central battle arena. It reflected a blue tint around the rest of the building. A boulder smashed against it and shattered, the vibrations powerful enough to shake the floor. Some Trainers spectating close the field were knocked off their feet. There were hundreds of people inside the Gym vying for the Mineral Badge. Near the edges of the building, two other battles were taking place between Trainers and the Gym aides. Ciel watched an Octillery be thrown outside the ring and its Trainer left the building in a hurry after recalling the Pokémon.

Ciel kept focused above the heads of the crowd. He could only see glimpses, but a steel, serpentine creature was thrashing around the ring. He narrowed his eyes.

"This is the busiest Gym I've ever seen," said Crystal. "It's hard to tell from the outside. Are we getting in line?"

"What line? I could organize the place better than this," said Gold.

Suddenly, the blue energy dropped, and the tail end of a mighty roar silenced the entire Gym. The sea of challengers parted to allow the defeated Trainer past. The man brushed Ciel's shoulder. A Poké Ball was clutched in his hand and he hung his head in utter defeat.

"All of you will organize yourselves or remove yourselves from the premise! I don't have time to battle _and_ babysit," shouted a voice. As the crowds complied, Ciel was granted full view of the battlefield. Steelix, an immense, winding behemoth of a Pokémon, towered in full command over them. Its body was divided into roughly circular metal sections connected like a long chain, every other section extending a pair of spikes that it used to leverage itself. Its head was twice as wide as its body with a pronounced lower jaw. It was a creature of pure power.

However, a petite woman in a sparkling dress completely overshadowed her titanic partner when she raised her hand to silence the building. Jasmine, Gym Leader of Olivine, willed the crowd to order.

"Connie, Preston. Any takers?" she asked her aides.

As the crowd thinned out and pushed itself towards the entrance wall, Connie, the younger girl, revealed that she had been defeated by a barefooted boy in a loose robe. His Pokémon, a thin gray humanoid with wide pink hips, stood over her downed Magnemite, a circular Pokémon poked with what looked like screws. Connie urged the Trainer to approach the main battlefield.

Ciel fell against the back wall himself with Crystal and Gold when the barrier reformed. The soundproof projection belied the utter destruction within. Jasmine's Steelix fractured the battlefield with attack after attack and the opposing Pokémon—Medicham, Ciel remembered from his trip to Hoenn—could only prolong the inevitable. It redirected rock fragments and evaded opening fissures using its psychic abilities, but there was no way it could keep up with the monster.

Steelix slammed its tail into the ground. A tower of earth fired upwards and knocked the Medicham unconscious into the field, which dissipated soon after. The Trainer had forfeit.

"Quick and easy. Next?" Jasmine scanned the crowd, but her bout ended far before either aide had finished their test. "Okay, no one. Has anyone here faced me in battle before? If you've already proven yourself worthy in a previous challenge, that's fine. Just keep it moving."

Ciel seized. In his periphery, a few Trainers hesitated forward but ultimately refused to present themselves. He tried as well. He couldn't do it. He looked to Crystal, who rested her hand on his shoulder again. No matter his decision, she'd support it.

Someone else made the decision for him, however. Raven, who had followed at a distance when they traveled to the Gym, stepped past him without regard and separated from the crowd. His Absol curled up in the center of the Gym to nap.

Jasmine spoke up. "Whose Pokémon is that?"

Barring the battles between the aides and challengers, the Gym was still. The Gym Leader hopped across the opened chasms in the scarred battlefield without misstep. As she passed the barrier frame and approached Raven, Ciel could feel the intimidation across every challenger. She sat on her knees.

"Hey there. I think I remember you." A different person spoke through a smile. That person traded control for an enveloping care of her surroundings. She let Raven sniff the back of her hand, and when given permission, ran her fingers through the Pokémon's fur.

That other person made Ciel step forward without fear. Whispers of the crowd surrounded his decision. He presented himself to the Gym Leader. "She's mine."

Jasmine rose to meet him. He hadn't realized before, but there was a thirty-centimeter difference between the two. Her stature was forgotten in face of her authority. She held her hands behind her back and leaned forward to examine him.

"I challenged you before," Ciel said. "I lost."

"I know," said the Gym Leader. "It's my fault when battles end that way. I should have read that you weren't ready and denied your challenge."

Ciel planted his foot and shook his head. "No. I knew the risks of Pokémon Training and I ignored them. I'm never going to let it happen again."

"Are you ready for another round, then?" she asked. There was a warm amusement in her voice.

"Yes."

"Will you lose?"

Ciel thought for a moment. Even now, he could never assure himself the battle's outcome. He held his head high for another chance and realized the outcome wasn't what she meant. "No. I'm done losing."

Jasmine, without so much as another glance, stepped back across the battlefield and returned to her position before Steelix. The Pokémon had been politely quiet during their exchange, but when Jasmine spun and flared her sparkling dress to become the other person, it bellowed to announce a challenge. A referee stood in place on a metal platform separate from the rocky field that couldn't be disrupted by the action.

Ciel stepped into bounds. An azure glow surrounded him. As the color filled in space, he waved to his two friends by the wall. Crystal held a thumb up high into the air. Gold cupped his mouth and shouted, "I call dibs on next!" The blue energy filled its framework and trapped Ciel in the world of battle. Raven was still on the outside of the field, though she knew Arden was with him on the inside.

"This battle is three-on-one. You must be able to defeat my Steelix before all three of your Pokémon are declared unfit for battle. If at any point you fear the safety of yourself or your team, you can forfeit by raising a single open hand. Do you accept these terms?" she asked.

Ciel looked to her, then to the referee, then back to her. He held out a Poké Ball and clicked the button. The materialization beam built the red figure of his Rhyhorn before the body faded to color. "I do."

The referee waved a green flag.

"Titania, Iron Tail!" shouted Jasmine. The beastly Pokémon reared its massive tail, twirled it in a wind-up motion, and slammed it into the ground like a flail. The ground shattered.

"Hector, move!" The ground give way as a crack tore between his feet. As it split, Ciel hopped to the left side, while Hector was forced towards the right. The Iron Tail cut the entire arena in two, shaking the ground violently and leaving two angled cliffs above a precipice.

He said, "Use Rock Throw!"

The previous battles' scarring left scattered formations on the uneven field. His Rhyhorn grabbed a risen stalagmite into his maw and tore it from its foundation. The Pokémon whipped around once to build momentum and launched the rock skyward. It exploded against Steelix's iron jaw. Its head was thrown backwards with the force, but when it turned back with renewed fury, Ciel knew surprise was the only effect.

The colossal Pokémon could barely be damaged by physical attacks. Only one of his Pokémon had the moveset necessary to overcome it, but he wasn't going to put someone's life on the line again. Hector could play defensively while he figured out a way to approach the towering Pokémon. Fortunately, he'd come into the battle with a plan.

"Hector, use Bulldoze to sink the ground around you!" Ciel ordered.

His Pokémon reared onto his hind legs and broke his own chunk of the arena. The vibrations traveling through his legs depressed the soft earth—a tall spire rose ahead of him opposite the submerging surface. Ciel ordered Hector to move to a new spot as Jasmine ordered another Iron Tail to smash the risen formation. He shouted, "Do it again!"

Hector performed another Bulldoze and created a rock shield. Steelix wound up another attack. This time, its tail swept wide to give no chance to dodge. The wave of metal reflected upwards over the shield and barely missed the Rhyhorn hidden behind. It destroyed the formation, but it was enough to let Hector flee.

The ground was crumbling beneath Ciel's feet. Every impact of Steelix's tail destabilized his footing, and as much as he wanted safe footing, it would only reappear when the battle concluded, hopefully on his terms. The same applied to the Gym Leader. He watched her skillfully hop between crumbling earth, but she too was running out of stable land. Ciel decided to test the limits of what she was willing to destroy.

"Keep doing it! Stay ahead of her!" Hector carried out the order verbatim, creating multiple small alcoves behind spires of rock and dirt.

Jasmine's orders slowed. Ciel locked eyes with her and he knew she was curious as to his plan. There came a point where she held up a hand to her Steelix and simply let Ciel and Hector create more and more protective spots. Each could hold against one attack, maybe two if he was lucky. He was ready to switch.

"While I appreciate the effort," Jasmine spoke up, "it ultimately means nothing. You're not the first person to try something like this, and you certainly won't be the last."

Ciel grit his teeth. Maybe she misinterpreted what he was trying, and he still had a chance. He held up Hector and Clovis's capsules.

"You think that I'm not willing to obliterate this entire battlefield. You're _sorely_ mistaken. Titania."

The Pokémon speared its tail into the ground like a sword in a pedestal. The tremor hit like a truck. With intense vibrations, the battlefield disassembled. Ciel had no choice but to watch each of the alcoves collapse inside themselves under duress from the Earthquake. Stray rocks toppled into the precipice as they dislodged from each cliff. Jasmine called, "Sweep the arena."

For the first time since the battle began, Steelix moved from its central position and raced around the ring. Its body spikes tore scars in the ground, and it lashed its tail at random. Ciel and Hector retreated to opposite corners and held on to nothing as the Pokémon collapsed the entire center of the battlefield. It sank two meters below the ground level of the Gym. The central precipice was still visible. Flying debris peppered Ciel and he fell backwards on instinct to avoid a particularly deadly-looking shard. He brought two fingers to his cheek and saw blood when he pulled them away.

Jasmine put one foot forward. The ground crumpled and she stepped back. The woman signaled to her Pokémon, which reared low its head. She stepped atop its metal skull and let the creature raise her to the sky. She said, "Finish it."

Her Steelix lashed out its tail with an incredible speed he had yet to see before. It pierced the ground just before reaching Hector and reemerged past him. The appendage curled around his Rhyhorn, squeezed tight, and lifted the Pokémon into the air. The metal colossus telegraphed a slam.

"Stop! I declare him unable to battle!' shouted Ciel. His words stopped the tail on its descent, and he fired the beam on Hector's Poké Ball. His Pokémon dematerialized in a scared, bracing, vulnerable position and was recalled from within Steelix's grip.

The referee, who was now standing on a higher plane than either combatant waved a yellow flag over the edge of his platform. "The challenger's Pokémon is unable to battle. Please send in a new Pokémon."

"This field is reconstructed weekly with assistance from my Pokémon. The rocks here are all re-digested and spit up in solid form by Titania, my two Golems, and a few newborn Onix. If I decide so, this entire field is collateral," Jasmine said.

He was down one Pokémon, had barely made a scratch, and his strategy to give his team some protection had failed. His footing was sinking and destabilized by the minute, and when he tested a step forward, a small sinkhole opened beneath his feet that made him hop to the side. Ciel released Clovis to the left side of the field. The Pidgeotto flared his wings and took to the sky immediately. The referee waved a green flag.

"Use Rock Slide," said the Gym Leader.

Her Steelix scooped up stray debris within its tail and flung it in Clovis's direction. He ordered Clovis to fly straight upwards. Multiple stray stones caught his body and he screeched in pain, but he managed to lift himself above most of the flying rubble.

He had no idea whether Clovis could damage a Steelix, but he was fast enough to evade attacks while Ciel figured out a new plan. He ordered, "Air Cutter!"

Clovis beat his wings in midair. His feather tips charged with energy, and like the Razor Leaf he'd witnessed from Gold's Bayleef, they released a volley of cutting winds that crossed the distance. Most of them reflected off the behemoth's metal coating. However, one chanced perfectly into a gap between its sections and another struck it across the eye right beneath Jasmine's feet. It reeled backwards and nearly caused the Gym Leader to slip off her vantage point.

Its eyes. If he could blind the creature, he might be able to stay one step ahead with Clovis and his third Pokémon. He couldn't use Sand Attack without directly approaching, and since its eyes were its only visible weak point, Jasmine would be expecting him to try it. He needed to approach without her noticing.

"Ground yourself! Kick up dirt around you," he ordered. The bird Pokémon dove to the floor and raked his claws through the earth to stir up a cloud. The creature disappeared within the swirling sands. After his battle against Westwood's Rufflet, Ciel confirmed that Clovis shared the same ability—his Keen Eye meant the swirling particles wouldn't affect him as well.

The Gym Leader commanded from atop the Pokémon. "Hit it with Iron Tail. It's going to spring out, be prepared to follow through."

Once again, Jasmine's Steelix thrashed its tail through the dirt. It was heavily telegraphed and Ciel counted on his superior vision to see the tail sweep. He called, "Catch!"

When the attack cut through the minor sandstorm, the particles dissipated and left both Jasmine and Steelix confused. Nothing was there. In those tense few moments, they waited for the inevitable counterattack, but Clovis hadn't sprung out of the dust nor had he stopped the Iron Tail. The Pokémon raised its tail towards its head to prepare another slam.

"Where is—" The Gym Leader cut herself off and whipped her head towards the tail. "Titania, watch out!"

Clovis hung on to the creature's tail with his life, having wedged his talons between two of its sections. Ciel ordered him to use Gust. The Pidgeotto performed a single powerful flap of his wings and the concentrated wind carried the dust particles caked into his feathers directly to Steelix's eyes. Jasmine was able to shield her face, but her Steelix took the improvised Sand Attack without any protection. The Pidgeotto dislodged itself and rocketed to the ground as the towering Pokémon began to flail.

Jasmine's Steelix panicked without its sight and crashed its tail into the battlefield with abandon. The ground beneath him gave way completely and Ciel had only a few seconds to get himself to safety before he was swallowed into the rocks. He was sinking. No solid ground was left, and he had no options but to let Jasmine save him. He raised his arm to forfeit.

A pair of talons wrapped themselves around his forearm and he was lifted from the ground. Looking up, Clovis struggled to keep air with the added weight, but the Flying-type was beating his wings with all his might to keep them both afloat. He wanted more than anything to hug the Pokémon for saving him, but Ciel kept focus knowing the battle wasn't over yet. The enraged Steelix continued its flailing and liquified the entire arena beneath them. The material below looked like raging quicksand as it tried to settle further down.

The Gym Leader wasn't faring much better. She attempted to reel in her Pokémon, but her words weren't getting through to the panicked creature that threatened to buck her off. Clovis hovered in place barely long enough, straining and chirping, for the rocks and raging sands to stabilize five meters further down the pit. His Pidgeotto gently let him grab his footing, and once he was safely landed on the new surface, Clovis hovered for a few more seconds before falling exhausted to the ground.

"I can't thank you enough, Clovis. You deserve a long rest when we get done with this." He withdrew a Poké Ball and dematerialized the creature in a flash of red.

Steelix was crippled due to lack of vision, and though Jasmine finally managed to get through to her partner, its eyes were nearly welded shut. It was now at a lasting disadvantage. Ciel decided his final Pokémon without thinking.

Arden appeared on the field and his flame sacs ignited to full burst. Free of his bandage, the Quilava was in peak physical condition. The only thing left of his injury was the wide scar across his abdomen that reminded Ciel of his mistake. He turned around and looked up at the edge of the force field, where Raven sat watching, expecting, judging from above. Things would be different this time. This time, he had a plan. This time, he held back and created an advantage. This time, Ciel knew Arden could fight on a level—and safe—playing field.

Ciel gave his order. "Flamethrower."

Arden opened his mouth wide and released a stream of flame that struck Steelix's body. It groaned under the intense heat and lashed its tail at nothing on instinct.

"Titania, Rock Slide, one o'clock," Jasmine called atop the Pokémon's head. It slammed its tail through the rocks to fire debris in Arden's general direction. However, its reaction was delayed as it processed the spatial order and Ciel's Pokémon was already halfway across the area to steer clear.

"Repeat Flamethrower! Aim for the lower jaw!" Arden erupted another continuous burst that washed over most of his opponent's head. It was clear their training in Cianwood had increased his capacity to ignite. Steelix was beginning to falter from the unyielding heat and air blurred due to the swirling currents.

Jasmine ordered a wide Iron Tail to ten o'clock. Ciel ordered Arden to fire directly downward. The recoil force launched the creature into the sky and he cleared the wave of metal without a scratch.

"Do it again!" Ciel shouted. He was sweating, but he felt more energized than ever.

Another Flamethrower hit home and turned Steelix's body red hot. It could barely lift its tail off the ground. Ciel's sight smeared under smoke and fire.

"Again!"

Arden's flame sacs exploded. The flames on his head and lower back fired higher and hotter than they ever had before. His attack rivaled the one released by Kris's Charizard in volume and sheer power. Hyperexertive expulsion. A critical hit. Steelix was almost completely engulfed by the unyielding inferno. Smoke engulfed Ciel. He coughed, he sweat through his clothes, and he smiled.

One final rumble shook the ground, followed by silence. He was certain the entire Gym felt it. He waited.

"Use Defog." Jasmine's voice echoed through the darkness and the smoke cleared. Steelix lied collapsed across the field while Jasmine stood front and center, ordering a bird Pokémon encased in metal to beat its wings. When everything settled, they both turned up to the referee, who hung a blue flag. Jasmine gave a signal and the arena itself ascended. Ciel looked around in awe, not having realized that it was movable platform. The energy field was gone when their footing came level with the Gym floor.

Ciel approached and she offered a badge in her hand, a simple octagon that gleamed like refined metal. When he took it, he said, "You and your Pokémon are amazing."

"I'm told they're worthy of the World Trial." The woman cast her gaze to the downed behemoth. Its coating faded from burning red to its natural metallic hue and it regained enough strength to shift its head through the dirt towards her. She tested the surface with a quick tap before resting her hand on its jaw. "You're much stronger than last time."

"He's put a lot of trust in me." Arden came to Ciel's side and held his head just as high.

"I think it's deserved," she said. "You used a Scyther last time, didn't you?"

"Yeah, why?"

Jasmine placed another item, a flawless metal cylinder, in his hands. She smiled. "Normally, I give out regular winnings, but not enough people use Steel. Use this when trading your Scyther and something fun will happen."

Ciel pocketed both the object and the badge. She asked him for his Trainer Card, and when he mentioned having lost it, she said she could confirm his identification with his parents. He thanked the Gym leader for everything, bowed, and turned away to make room for the next challenger. Someone important waited for him.

"I think we did okay, didn't we?" he asked.

Raven, of course, didn't answer. She huddled up to Arden and smothered him, licking his head like a doting mother. However, for only a moment, she glanced at him, and then led the junior Pokémon away as if it had never happened. But it had. Ciel held onto that.

He met Gold and Crystal and waited for them to issue their own challenges. Jasmine reversed her one-on-three battle to a traditional three-on-three while waiting for Steelix to recover. She was still a formidable opponent, but it wouldn't stand in their way. Crystal's Azumarill packed enough physical power challenge the defensive Steel-types, and Gold barely managed to come out on top through his Doduo's agile movements and Jump Kicks. When they left the Gym that night, all three held the Mineral Badge.

* * *

Ciel sat together alone with Raven amidst Olivine's shipyard machinery. The sun had long set, but freighters and their blinding lights continued to drift into the port and dock workers in the distance scrambled over each other to guide the movement of shipping containers. The brilliant beam of the lighthouse passed overhead.

Crystal said she and Gold were meeting a nurse named Diane. He promised to catch up later to thank her—she'd apparently cared for his Pokémon while they were interred—but he wanted to take a few moments for himself. They were leaving first thing the next morning and he realized he never had any time to enjoy the city. He sat a bench just outside the piers. He studied the movements from a distance, mesmerized by the continuous, efficient motions of the rotating cranes and their attached containers, unaware of how quickly time slipped away from him while he witnessed the living night.

His partner dozed on the opposite size of the bench, having followed him all the way out while the rest of his team decided to stay and rest at the center. While he was shivering somewhat, her fur completely warded away the cold. He moved to pet her but stopped and put his arm back down.

He brought with him a backpack that a mailman had shoved at him at the Pokémon Center. Setting it in front of himself, he unzipped the main pouch and checked through its contents. A resealable bag sat on top containing a reprint of his Trainer Card and a stack of bills. Next were countless bags of dried food, some for human consumption, some for Pokémon, some for both. The pack also contained several pairs of jeans and flat-color shirts, as well as another article of clothing. He pulled it out and held it between his hands.

It was a jacket. A nice one, judging by the feeling of the material between his fingertips, colored dark gray with a few lighter highlights. A Pokémon League's insignia was patched onto the left shoulder. Ciel noticed that it was the only article without a price tag still attached. He slipped the jacket over his shoulders. It felt insulated but airy at the same time. He bet he could also wear it in warm temperatures. There was a note stuffed in one of the pockets that he unfolded.

 _"It's going to get colder, especially with you coming up to Mahogany soon. Try not to freeze to death,"_ it read. The handwriting wasn't elegantly curved like he expected. It was angular and sloppy. He smiled.

Satisfied with himself, Ciel reassembled the backpack and made to leave. Raven hopped off the bench and followed a few paces behind him. He couldn't hear her steps, so kept turning his head to confirm she was still there. They walked through a row of inert contained stacked high—each reflected the barest amount of their respective colors. The shadow of a crane engulfed him temporarily and blocked out the shining, living docks.

Raven snarled. Her head darted in random directions trying to locate something and Ciel stopped immediately. His blood chilled in his veins and he scratched at his neck. He said, with a crack in his voice, "Who's there?"

Someone stepped from behind the crate and her simple presence threatened to turn him inside-out. Ciel put up his fighting stance. Left side up and forward, hand out. Right side back, low, and fluid. His stomach wouldn't stop turning, but he reassured himself that he was ready for a fight.

"It's no fun when I can't sneak up on you. Your Absol is quick witted." That voice. With each passing second, he tried harder and harder to convince himself that this person wasn't her, but it broke and broke and broke and broke. His neck itched again. A break in the crane's shadow revealed her purple hair and sinister eyes.

"You're following me." he said quickly.

"I said we'd be keeping an eye on you," she said. "You've been a good little boy so far. I'd hate to have to do something drastic."

Raven bared her sickle and her teeth and prepared to pounce. Yet, she was frozen just like him. This woman's sheer presence sent them both into veritable shock.

Ciel thought carefully and a second hung in the air before he said anything else. He shifted his back foot slightly. His forward arm shook involuntarily. He said, breathing uneven, "I'm going to defeat you."

"Is that so?" she mused.

"Yes. We're going to find your base, or hideout, or headquarters, or whatever it is, and we're going to stop you for good. I won't let you threaten anyone else," he said.

She approached and there was nothing he could do but watch with hitched breaths as she invaded his space. The woman leaned forward and placed a finger against her cheek. She tapped it twice. "I assure you, you won't be able to stop me unless you stop _me._ Why not give it a try, little boy?"

He threw the first punch.

The woman leaned right, and his fist flew past. Her hand, flattened into a jab, jammed into his stomach—he coughed and staggered back but kept on by launching another strike low with his opposite hand.

She grabbed around his arm and cranked it around, twisting it behind his back. He couldn't break free from the woman's deceptive grip. She cackled. "Has all that work gone to waste?"

How long had she been watching him? Had she seen his practices with Chuck over those months and already know what to expect? He shouted, "Raven!"

She leapt and swung Night Blade. The woman released him to dodge the leap and Ciel took the opportunity. He spun on the ball of his foot and threw a high-level strike. Hitting above the shoulders was strictly forbidden in Chuck's discipline, but Ciel didn't care. The force of his fist driving through her cheek traveled backwards up his entire arm. Neither of them moved.

She turned her face against his blow where he saw a slight amount of blood at the edge of her mouth. She grinned. "You're a fascinating one. Just remember to keep yourself in line."

The force disappeared when she stepped away without so much as a flinch. She backed away and faded into the darkness. Raven stepped in front with another Night Slash at the ready, and neither of them moved until she vanished completely. Her disaster sense faded, and she dropped the defensive stance.

Ciel curled his fists. Even if he reported her to the police like last time, not much would change. She'd keep following him and threatening him and his family until he tore down that operation for good. He didn't linger. "Let's go, Raven. We've got work to do."

It wasn't a long walk from the shipyards to the Pokémon Center downtown, especially with little to no people out at that time. Ciel was pointed in his direction and Raven rode his heels closer than before the entire way. They stepped through the automatic doors to the Pokémon Center, where Crystal and Gold were waiting alongside their and his full teams of Pokémon in the lobby. He quickly wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Hey, did you enjoy your walk?" Crystal asked. Gold threw his arms around her shoulders and waved at him from behind her. Another entity, his Togepi, was resting with his hair like Clovis used to do to him.

Ciel held his tongue, then said, "Yeah. I think I'm ready to leave Olivine behind."

"Right. We need to make it to Mahogany. For all of us."

Gold cheered. "All aboard the Mahogany Express!"

Ciel checked one last time to make sure Raven was still behind him, and sure enough, she had already returned to the rest of his team to tell of their encounter. Perhaps things with her weren't perfect, but he was going to mend things as best he could.

Mahogany waited for him. His parents were there. The Rockets were there. Maybe. Definitely. There was so much rushing at him, but he was certain more than ever that he'd meet it with a head up and his Pokémon at his side, because his friends and his family were counting on it. He tightened his new jacket around his shoulders. It was time for him to be the Pokémon Trainer he always wanted to be.

* * *

 **This is the first chapter in a while that I've had genuine difficulty writing. I've been getting slammed with more and more work recently and was getting nervous when I only had about 1,000 words written a week after Chapter 26 was posted. Plus, I just wasn't feeling my best and kept second-guessing my inputs for the Jasmine battle, in addition to structured Pokémon battles always taking longer than regular scenes. Anyone who remembers the wait for Chapter 5 and Chapter 7 knows that I'm trying my best to keep on track, so I apologize for having to delay this twice.**

 **Fall has been a great time for media for me. RWBY Volume 7 premiered last week, My Hero Academia's fourth season is running, as is The Good Place (I'm anticipating a great finale!). I've been playing into Luigi's Mansion 3, and as we all know, we're just one week away from Pokémon Sword and Shield. I'm feeling sentimental saying goodbye to Generation VII, but here's to a brand-new world.**

 **Thank you all for being patient, and I'll get back to you as soon as possible around November 29th for Chapter 28: Everyday Hero. Cheers!**


	28. Everyday Hero

**This story is co-developed and edited by Titan127.**

 **Disclaimer: Pokémon is a registered property of Nintendo, the Pokémon Company, and GameFreak. This work respectfully uses the world and characters of the Pokémon series, with no intent of harm on the original creators. Please support the official releases of the Pokémon franchise.**

 **Chapter 28: Everyday Hero (7,695 words)**

* * *

Brent fired the Great Ball's materialization beam into the autumn-coated forest. He fidgeted. The brilliant red matched the vibrant colors of dying leaves. Experts suggested that Trainers should routinely release PC-stored Pokémon, once every month or so, to avoid any negative consequences of prolonged stasis. None of that research was conclusive, but he still didn't want to take any chances and horribly disfigure one of the Pokémon under his care. However, Heracross presented a very specific, unique challenge.

Brent ducked. The tree behind him exploded.

That was a gross understatement. He sprinted behind another tree to give himself some space. The armored creature had barely faded into color before it began its rampage once again, lashing out at anything and everything in blind anger. It was impossible to reason with. Brent was knocked into next week the last time he tried.

"Are you doing okay over there?" Zuki's voice echoed through the forest.

"Does it _look_ like I'm doing okay?" he shouted back.

Another piece of forestry was wiped off the face of the planet in a thousand tiny splinters. Multicolored leaves swirled through the woods. One caught in Brent's mouth and he nearly swallowed it.

Stasis, for all intents and purposes, froze a Pokémon's consciousness at the point they were recalled. When released, they pick up at the same point they left off and must adjust for the time elapsed while they were dematerialized. Usually, if recalled and released at the same point in the day, it wouldn't mess with their biological clocks.

However, there was no way to get through to his Pokémon that it had been _months._ Brent had barely kept the Pokémon active for a cumulative twenty minutes since he was first captured, so as far as Heracross was concerned, it was still the same afternoon that it fought Ciel's Scyther. It was still enraged at whatever had happened and was too blind to see that it was far away from the National Park, that it was in no danger, and that its enemy was long gone. It was like trying to calm an infant's crying fit, if that infant had enough raw strength to kill a Wailord in one punch. Brent grit his teeth.

"Remember the plan, guys. Go!" he ordered.

Eevee, Furret, and Tyrogue appeared from their hiding places among the foliage, immediately drawing Heracross's attention. Eevee channeled his inner power. His eyes shined wide with Fairy-type energy, which caused the rampaging Bug Pokémon to visibly falter—it recovered quickly and threw itself at them, ready for another punch. Tyrogue stood tall on Furret's head to meet the oncoming opponent at eye level. He put out both his arms to catch.

Heracross's speed multiplied. It crossed the distance in moments and its heart-shaped horn shone with power. It struck.

The impact blew past Brent from his position behind the tree. He held on for dear life and all that was sacred. Shielding his eyes just enough to see, he realized Tyrogue had completely absorbed the force of the blow. His hands were bloodied, and his face contorted in pain, but his Endure allowed him to stop Heracross completely. Yes! The insect Pokémon was frozen in shock.

"You're doing it! Use Baby-Doll Eyes again," Brent said quickly.

Eevee concentrated and its eyes shone a second time to send another shudder rippling through Heracross. The creature reeled back, now disoriented, confused, and sapped of strength, but still furious beyond belief. Brent pressed the button on Tyrogue's capsule. The beam removed him from the battlefield, leaving Furret and Eevee to finish the job.

Heracross charged again. Another Baby-Doll Eyes made it falter in flight, and Furret threw a Sucker Punch that slammed knuckle-to-knuckle against the oncoming blow. Eevee's fourth use of Baby-Doll eyes made Heracross drop to the ground, too weak to support flight.

Brent stepped from his hiding place and planted himself in front of his Pokémon. He whispered to tell them he could handle it, which caused them both to retreat into the forest where Zuki and her Umbreon were waiting. Brent stared down the attacker himself, grinning.

Unrelenting, it charged one final time. Brent had no idea if this would work, but he decided that the best way to solve this problem was head-on. He put up his good arm, braced himself, and put on his best smile as the horned, armored creature threw its final punch.

There was nothing. It was weakened to the point where, though its claws dug into Brent's forearm and send vibrations up the limb, there wasn't enough force behind it to even make him budge. It threw another punch to Brent's gut. The blow knocked the wind out of him, but he held himself tight and kept that smile wide. The biggest step was to be a friend. Heracross backed away.

"It's over," Brent said. He coughed, but his enthusiasm maintained. "There's nothing to fight about anymore."

The creature's beady, yellow eyes focused on him, reading his stature. Brent kept his shoulders low, moved his hands—with a jolt of pain from his right—behind his back, and then lowered himself to one knee. Its wings flared for a moment and then returned to rest. He continued, "Are you okay?"

He was sure the Pokémon couldn't comprehend him yet, and if he did learn anything from the National Park workers, it was probably limited. His point was clear, however. Heracross dropped on its belly and sat passive.

Brent sighed in massive relief. He hung his head backwards until he almost toppled over, jumped to correct his balance, put two pinkies in his mouth, and whistled the signal. Soon after came Zuki, Lucine, and his active Pokémon from hidden deep in the woods. His companion was drawn to the small bloodied marks on his left arm.

"You didn't tell me that was your plan," she said. There was a certain distaste in her words. "You could have broken another one."

He shrugged and laughed. "I knew it would be fine. Just like wrestling a Tauros, right? Besides, my right arm is already good as new."

Pulling his arm above his head to prove her point, he felt a sharp jab of pain that made him hiss. Brent squinted his eyes closed and let it drop to his side. Zuki frowned.

"The doctor said not to stress it, so don't. Just because you're out of the cast doesn't mean it's fully healed," she said.

He reached into his back to retrieve a large jar of honey, bought from an Ecruteak shop and labeled in Johtoan script. The substance was a brilliant gold, like a pool of pure light, and when he twisted the lid off, the forest filled with a sweet floral aroma. Immediately, Heracross bounded to its feet and scurried up to him. It took the jar without hesitation and shoved it to its face. Brent could see a proboscis of sorts extending and retracting from its mouth between a small set of mandibles.

It sat against a nearby tree to dig into the honey. Brent checked the information panel on his Great Ball, which recorded "HERACROSS" and a female symbol. If that was an agitated female, he shuddered to imagine the males. He decided the Pokémon had the right idea and leaned himself against a non-exploded tree of his own to rest, motioning for Zuki to sit down as well. She didn't.

"How long until we reach Olivine?" he asked.

His companion pulled out a paper map, unfolded it, and scanned her finger across it. Her finger tapped a spot. "We just passed the fifth route progress marker, so we should be about fifteen to twenty kilometers out. Assuming nothing holds us up, we'll arrive tonight."

"That's good, that's good." He yawned loud enough to startle the forest, then covered his mouth when he saw her staring. To busy himself, he pulled out his Poké GEAR and checked his weather service update. A pretty dangerous—and nearly out of season—tropical cyclone was rolling in over the next few days. They didn't want to get caught in the wilderness when it hit.

Zuki returned to where Lucine, Eevee, and Furret were idling a few paces away. The former two were chasing each other in circles through the minor clearing, bobbing and weaving between trees. Eevee's shorter legs had no way of catching up to its evolved relative, but he had too much heart not to try. Zuki asked, "Furret, would you like to spar with us?"

His partner looked up at her and nodded its entire head and neck up and down. Zuki called Lucine away from her game of tag. As Furret and Lucine took to opposite sides of an imagined field, Eevee sat patiently to spectate the match. They launched.

Zuki called for Confuse Ray. Her Umbreon concentrated, hummed, and then fired a wisp from the center of the ring on her forehead. It phased in and out of being and was barely visible, but Furret dropped low to the ground and let it pass directly over. He charged forward and used Quick Attack, slamming into Lucine and catching her by surprise.

A wave of energy washed forward over Furret, but he shrugged off the Dark Pulse and kept on the offensive, baring his claws. Zuki wasn't deterred and called for Protect. A brilliant coating covered her Pokémon's body that reflected Furret's strikes, one after another.

Brent felt an iota of pride. He'd been the one to teach her the basics of Pokémon battling, and she'd picked up on it quick. It really was just like a dance. She even tried to battle the Gym Leader at Blackthorn just to see if she could. She lost but was excited beyond belief at the experience. On their way back down the mountains and through Ecruteak, she kept at it with as much pomp as she could muster. Seeing her happy made him feel fuzzy inside.

His thoughts began to wander as he drifted off by the tree. Everywhere to his Mom, even though he called her just last week, to how he and Ciel had probably crossed paths without knowing on the way to their next Gym battles, to his wonderful team of Pokémon and how they grew stronger by the day. They were going to be great heroes. Right?

Night filled his vision when he tugged his eyes open. He blinked once, twice, three times, trying to adjust his eyes. Another yawn escaped him. "Huh? What time is it?"

Before him, Zuki was kneeled around a pile of sticks and twigs—she was twisting one between her hands and muttering under her breath. Nothing was happening. Notably, she was wearing her kimono set, which he assumed was warmer than her casual fare. Once he gained bearing, he scooted himself across the ground towards the fire.

"What's going on?" he asked.

She looked up in surprise, her concentration broken. "Oh! You're awake. Well, I'm trying to start a fire, but as you can see, it's a little more irritating than I imagined."

He was puzzled and searched through his messenger bag for some matches. There had to be some left, since he always kept stocked. He looked up. "Why didn't you wake me?"

"Well, you dozed off, so I thought—" A spark flashed at the point her stick met the ground. She gasped and twisted harder. "I just didn't want to bother you. You need to rest now and then to be a hero, we went over this. We should still make it before the storm hits."

He finally located the box of matches, but her words made him fumble the box and spill its contents all over the forest floor. One at a time, he picked each one of them from the grass and fit them neatly inside the sliding container. The one he left free, he scraped against the ignition pad to no success.

He began, "Am I really going to be a hero?"

She hesitated to answer and instead tried once again to light an analog spark. When that didn't work, he offered her the matchbox and she lit one herself to drop into the kindling. She had a disappointed look about her. "Is this about the Lake of Rage again?"

"No. Well, kinda. It's just, it feels like I'm no closer than I was when I started. I still think about when we were on Mount Mortar sometimes. And not about the actual, you know…" He raised his right arm a little bit.

Once she made sure the fire was lit, she sat on her knees next to him and extended her hands to the fire. Eager to bask in the heat as well, all the active Pokémon soon gathered around the open flame. Furret curled in on himself, while Lucine chirped—it was difficult to describe the multi-pitched noise—to Eevee as they soaked in warmth. A rounded shape had fused itself to a nearby tree trunk, which he assumed to be a sleeping Heracross. Cold nights weren't so bad when he had so many good friends around to share it together.

It took her a long time to answer his question. He assumed the rambling went over her head. Only when he'd moved on did she finally respond. She said, "I think you're a hero."

"Thanks, I guess," he said. It should have meant something, but it passed right through him like it was nothing. Absolutely nothing.

"Do you know the exact point I decided to run away from home?" She continued, "One day, I decided for myself that I wasn't happy with not being happy. Before then, I told myself I wasn't happy but resigned that it was how things were. So, I remained not happy."

He sucked in an annoyed breath. She took notice and turned away from him, but he felt justified. "If only it was that easy."

"It's not. It takes a lot of time, and a lot of effort. I know you've put in both, but the final deciding factor is _you."_ She put a finger to his chest, just as she did when he was bedridden in Mahogany. "You're working towards a you that you can be happy about."

"But I'm not."

"But you have to be," she pressed, command in her voice like a Trainer, or a speaker, or a leader. "As far as I, or Ciel, or your mother are concerned, you're already the hero you convince yourself you aren't. We're all waiting on you."

He didn't really know how to respond. In some ways it was so frustrating that nothing told him he was making progress. All he wanted was to be like his mother, to be there for someone and feel accomplished while he did so. After all, it was his life's calling, or what have you, so he should be able to feel successful while doing it.

But he didn't. He felt like it was his duty, and it was, and he wanted to fulfill his duty, but it wasn't building to anything. Being a hero felt like a job. He didn't want a job. He wanted a career! He slammed a fist into his other hand's open palm, prompting a curious glance from Zuki. He turned to her.

"Do you mean that?" he asked.

"Mean what?"

"Do you really believe I'm a hero?" She'd said it before, and every single time it passed over his head. He needed to know.

She tilted her head at him, first to the left, then to the right. He had no idea what she was looking for, but he felt super awkward. His eyes shifted back and forth. She said, "Not right now I don't."

He was about to protest, but he was silenced when she put two index fingers to his cheeks, holding the edges of his mouth. She curled his face into a smile. He couldn't help but giggle.

"Now I do. There's the hero." She met the gesture with her own.

Only then did he realize exactly how close she was to him. Her face was barely a few centimeters away, and their eyes were focused on nothing but each other. The light of the fire glowed warm on her face.

He couldn't tell who made the final move, but it didn't matter. Their lips met. Brent closed his eyes, placed his hands gently on hers, and lived within that infinitesimal moment. Everything around him was momentarily forgotten. The forest, his arm, his doubts, all of it.

When he pulled away, it was awkward, but not that awkward. He rubbed his neck. "Sorry, I guess that was uncalled for." However, he still wasn't sure who went first.

"No, no, I think it was perfect," she said, sitting back beside him. She stuttered a bit. "Well, it wasn't like I imagined. A little strange."

"I didn't mean to make it weird!" He frantically waved his arms and scooted away slightly. "Sorry! I'm not great with, uhh, that."

"I've never kissed anyone in my life."

"Oh, well then, I'm the best kisser on the planet. You can't prove otherwise." She first cast a doubtful glance at him, then she laughed a soft, beautiful laugh.

They both faced the fire once again, and this time, she leaned her head against his shoulder. There was so much going through Brent's head and he had no chance of sorting it out. However, he did have lots of time. He'd napped for who knows how many hours and was feeling as alive and refreshed as ever. So, while Zuki slowly dozed off, he kept tending to the fire—as best he could without bothering her, anyway—and sat in peaceful silence though the night. The other Pokémon were already out cold as well. It was just him.

He tried to parse though his head what it meant to be a hero. To some degree, he wished it was as easy as he once believed.

Help someone out? Always, without question.

Try his best? It'd be harder to convince himself not to.

Believe what he's doing is right? He'd never once thought otherwise.

But the missing link was himself. Brent could never be satisfied with his goal until he was satisfied with himself. He himself needed to be happy with each and every little change he made, and the life he lived, and then he'd truly be that hero. His gaze landed on his companion. Maybe someone else could finally help him believe that.

* * *

"How come the Gym's closed?" Brent asked. After walking in the woods for weeks, he certainly was disappointed that he couldn't access the one thing he came for.

"It just is. Sorry to trouble you." The older gentlemen, wearing a fine suit and hat, stood in front of the heavy metal doors. The words were scratchy, as if he'd been talking the whole day. His arms were crossed, and his foot tapped in tandem with his index finger on the other forearm.

"It's normal operating hours," he noted. The sign on the wall said it clearly. "Please, sir, can I at least get an explanation?"

"You're about the hundredth person to come up here and ask what's going on. If it'll make you happy, there was an emergency that called the Gym Leader away."

Immediately, the Gym's closure fell to the back of his mind. Sure, continuing his Gym Challenge and growing stronger was important, but the word "emergency" shifted the gears. He asked. "How can I help?"

The gentleman flinched, then examined him up and down. "You want to help?"

"Any way I can."

This broke his annoyed disposition some and he dropped his arms to his sides. He had hidden it well, but the man was clearly distressed, which only left Brent more unsettled and more desperate to offer support.

"She's at Glitter Lighthouse," the gentleman said, sullenly. "I'm not sure how much you can do. She wants to deal with it herself."

Brent stepped to attention and brought a salute to his brow. He nodded. The man said nothing but regarded him as he stepped back and broke into a jog away from the Gym. Zuki stood in wait on the sidewalk at the property's edge, traffic blurring behind her.

"Is something the matter?" she asked over the sound of city bustle.

He spun on his heels and located the lighthouse, which was still visible from their point in the city, poking out between gaps in the skyscrapers of Olivine. He leaned on his toes and formed an imagined pair of binoculars to get a better look, as it were. It was shrouded by an isolated shower on that side of the city, which predicated the arrival of the tropical cyclone itself over the waters of the bay. It might arrive in the next few hours.

"We need to make it over there." He motioned in the lighthouse's direction. "There's some kind of emergency."

He broke off in a hurry and she picked up the pace behind him. When he realized he was outpacing her, he slowed to let her catch up by his side. Vehicles and pedestrians droned around them, all leaving the city and none coming in. Brent found himself ducking and swerving and turning and sidestepping to avoid running into people—he couldn't slow down if something was wrong. One road was open to cross, but they missed the timing on the next and were forced to wait at the edge of the crosswalk. He hopped back and forth between each foot.

Zuki was already panting, though she tried not to show it. "Is this something you can do safely?"

"No idea," he said, eyes focused on the signal across the road. A near-endless stream of cars funneled through the roads, all of them appearing dull under the overcast day. "But I've got to get over there."

"Is it going to make you happy?" she asked.

"I don't know yet. But it'd make me sad if I never gave it a shot." He couldn't answer any questions, really. All he was riding on was a gut feeling.

The walk sign flashed, and he booked it down the street, though he had no real idea where he was going. They entered the shower. Drops of water twitched his nose and sent a shiver down his back that coursed through his entire body, but it only made him pick up the pace. Soon enough, pavement turned to sand as they approached the bay itself. The lighthouse was dark. Shouldn't it be active because of the deepening storm?

After checking to make sure Zuki was still trailing him—she gave a small signal to indicate she was doing okay—he entered the main yard of the lighthouse. It was an open property, no guards on site or anything. His first step onto the exterior staircase reverberated a metal tune. Each successive step made a chime through the rain, and he gripped the railing tight to make sure he didn't slip.

Brent's attention was drawn to the bay. That major cyclone was rolling in over the bay soon, which made it more necessary that he find out what was going on. Even he was starting to lose breath. At the top of the stairs was a flat platform enclosing a circular wall of glass. He reached for a metal handle and found the panel door locked. He knocked. No one answered, so he knocked again. Then again.

Zuki dragged herself next to him to catch her breath. They were both under a small overhang that kept the rain at bay. He glanced to her between knocks.

He grinned, feeling water pooling at his chin. "This is pretty fun, huh?"

"I'm cold, wet, and annoyed." She crossed her arms around herself to try to preserve some warmth. Brent slipped off his own light jacket and held it out to her—she wrapped it around herself and frowned when she saw him shiver.

He knocked more and more frantically. Inside the wide glass room, a machine touting gigantic lenses sat dead center. A woman appeared from behind it. She unlocked it to allow them both to step inside and bask in the warmth of the building.

"What are you doing here?" Her voice was soft and felt like the cold outside. She must have been Jasmine, the Olivine Gym Leader.

"The, uhh, someone from your Gym sent me. The older guy," Brent said. Using a hand, he motioned to indicate the man's relative height.

She muttered something to herself, then turned away to return to the machine. "He should have told you the Gym's closed. Leave."

Zuki put herself forward. "We're here to help."

Jasmine slammed her foot down when she stopped. A fist curled at her side. Brent cowered behind the power she exuded from the simple gesture alone. She twisted her head so only a single eye was visible. "The mayoral office said they couldn't. The League couldn't either. What makes you think you can?"

"Because I'm… because I'm a hero," Brent said. He realized too late how awful that sounded coming from his lips, how much of an idiot it made him look, and how much it felt like a lie to himself.

The Gym Leader hung her head and headed back towards the machine. Brent had no idea if that was an invitation, but he and Zuki took it upon themselves to follow. They curved around the massive apparatus until they reached a small set of stairs. His eyes followed the path into the machine, wherein yellow creature lied curled below a set of unknown mechanisms. It had a pale underbelly, a long neck, and two red, crystalline orbs adorning its forehead and tail. They were dark.

"An Ampharos," Zuki stated. "It's what powers the lighthouse, correct?"

Jasmine grabbed the stairway's railing. "He's dying."

Brent's heart lurched. He looked back over the creature—its eyes were on him, and he could see it trying to raise its head. Its body was weak. He stepped up the stairs into the light apparatus and knelt in front of the him, putting out his hand for the Pokémon. The creature licked him, but that was all it could manage.

"He can barely breathe," she said. Though she'd previously looked powerful, he heard the suppression of a cry in her voice. "It's a rare disease. The Pokémon Center said the only cure right now is endemic plants from Cianwood. But with the storm coming through, we need the lighthouse operational to lead any ships back here. They can't risk getting caught on rocks or in the whirlpools further out."

Brent considered the possibilities in his head. It'd need to be shipped to another port and then traveled overland, but they'd need a larger craft to weather the massive storm, so the closest major stop is Goldenrod. Plus, there were no airports in Cianwood. He said, "And the League?"

"This city's chapter is training a new Ampharos to take over." Jasmine took in a deep breath, and when she let it out, her face was blank.

"They're just going to leave this one to die?" he asked. Her silence answered his question. "Let me help. I have a Gyarados. Maybe I could ride the water to get to Cianwood and back in time."

"I appreciate it, but even if your Pokémon can make that distance, you can't, and not through a storm this dangerous." She pointed out the window. Brent took in the sheer darkness sweeping in over the water. It would be upon them in an hour, maybe two. The storm expanded for as far as he could see in every direction. "And that Gyarados is probably freshwater."

She was right. That salesman claimed it was from a river—a divine one, he pitched, but a river, nonetheless. Still, there had to be something he could do, anything. He couldn't see another Pokémon die. He walked over to the window, placed his hand against it, and stared into the storm.

Every few seconds, a flash of light pierced through the clouds and warned of what was about to weigh down on them. The wind picked up. Standing palms in city parks below were swaying and stray debris was flying past the lighthouse window.

Brent asked, mostly to himself, "Is there no other option?"

The Gym Leader lowered herself onto the second step and rested with her knees together. She didn't look up at him. "I have a Skarmory. He might be able to make the trip. But I don't know if I could—"

She shook her head violently and said, "No. I can't leave Amphy alone."

Zuki had stood to the side during their entire exchange and met Brent by the window. They stood in solidarity for a couple minutes, unable to respond. He felt fingers intertwine with his and give him back the tiniest bit of hope for the situation.

"What should I do?" he whispered.

"You aren't going out into the storm." It almost sounded like a threat. He read her serious expression. How could he be a hero if he didn't go out there and be one?

On the stairs sat a brown-haired woman. She looked frail, yet strong; sad, yet joyful; despite there being no support to help her through the worst days of her life, she kept a steel-clad expression on her face. He blinked and she was gone, replaced by a Gym Leader of the exact same description.

"Let me stay," Brent said while presenting himself to her. "I don't blame you if you don't want to go out there, but you can't do this all by yourself. Whatever you decide, I'll stay with Amphy."

"Why? I don't even know you."

"Because when something happens, it's better if it isn't just happening to you. I think." He tried his best to smile despite the oppressive air in the lighthouse threatening to crush himself and Jasmine and Zuki. He needed more than ever to keep a happy face. "What will you do?"

"I…" She had no idea what to say. She was still processing, and he let her take as long as she needed, but realized she kept glancing out over the water. When she spoke again, her voice was clearer than before. She stood and placed her hands on his shoulders. "Can I trust you?"

She and her Pokémon could make the journey, he was sure of that. Part of him deep down hated that he couldn't say the same for himself, but Gym Leaders were leaps and bounds ahead of an amateur like him in skill. Trainers only beat them because they limited themselves. She had the power. He'd take her place here, because if it would be suicide for him to brave the storm, he still had a way to be a hero in that very moment.

"Absolutely. I won't leave his side for a second," Brent said. It was the best he could do.

The woman withdrew a capsule from the pockets of her dress and lobbed it towards the door. Because the darkness of the storm had nearly overtaken them, the flash of red blinded him. The Pokémon revealed was an avian creature with steel feathers, taller than the Gym Leader and almost matching his own height. Its sleek body looked like it could pierce the air itself.

She forced the lightroom door open despite the massive wind pressure pushing back. Powerful, swirling air came alive inside for those few moments. Zuki noticed she wasn't wearing anything to combat the cold and rain and offered Brent's jacket to her. She zipped it around herself, the vibrant green contrasting her pale yet sparkling dress.

"I keep a supply of food here for him. Make him eat, if you can. He's been rejecting it. And here," she said. Jasmine withdrew a paper card and a pen from her dress. She quickly scribbled a few phone numbers and a signature. "My aides might be able to help. I didn't want to bother them with any of this, but if you need it, then do it."

Brent nodded and held it close to his chest.

"I just realized. I never even got your names," she said.

Right. He hadn't even bothered to introduce himself before jumping right in. He said, "I'm Brent Custos."

"Zuki Dento," said his companion.

Jasmine looked between the two and nodded in approval. Without another word, she stepped out onto the walkway and boarded her Skarmory by wrapping her arms around its neck. It flared its wings, and with one powerful beat, it launched into the sky, trails of wind cut in two by its bladed wings. He and Zuki made to jam the doors shut from the wind and they witnessed her disappear into the dark horizon.

To save this Pokémon, he'd have to count on her just as much as he was counting on himself. He immediately broke out his Poké GEAR and called the two aides. As well, he loaded up a number he hadn't yet had the chance to use. Lyra—Crystal—had shared it back in Violet. When Ciel called about his time in Cianwood, he mentioned that Crystal made friends with a Pokémon Center nurse to look after his Pokémon. Even if it was an unknown disease, having someone on-call might be able to help.

There was so much Jasmine left out, as if she had given up entirely and tried to shoulder it all herself. He wouldn't blame her for it. He'd just do what he could. Stepping up on the machine, he sat by Amphy's side and allowed the creature to rest against the warmth of his skin.

By the time the cyclone truly began around the lighthouse and drowned the world, he already had his own machine running. Connie, the younger of the aides, appeared from the inner stairwell, drenched but carrying takeout fast food for the lot of them.

"School's canceled tomorrow anyway." She had soft brown hair, a similar color to his own, and a dark uniform that she tried her best to squeeze water from. "I can't believe she'd keep me in the dark about this."

About an hour later, a black-haired woman appeared in the tower with a plethora of medical supplies. He didn't know her face, but she seemed informed about him, and counted on her fingers, "Brown hair, brown eyes, plain face, big smile. You're Brent, right?"

"Yeah. Did Crys—"

She cut him off and pushed past him on the stairs when she noticed the downed Pokémon. She set to work with her instruments, taking basic vitals and asking for the food they had been supplied. The nurse started making calls of her own, asking questions about anything and everything to someone at the Pokémon Center. To keep the mood going, he kept his smile, and once she had done her initial checks, he took her place again at Amphy's side.

Zuki sat a few stairs down on the light apparatus, looking up at him every so often. He said, "I'm sorry I dragged you into this."

"If I had objections, I would have informed you," she said. "I knew this would be important to you, and it's just like you said. It's better when it happens to us together."

"Did I make the right choice this time?"

"You did." When Zuki spoke with that authoritative voice, he had no choice but to agree.

As the storm overcame them, Brent kept his focus on Amphy. This poor creature was the golden gear in the center of the city's clockwork, a beacon for travelers of land and sea. For the Pokémon's sake, for the Gym Leader's sake, for the sake of everyone in Olivine, he'd be a hero. And for his own sake, as well.

* * *

He was true to his word. Never once did he voluntarily leave his spot. As the hours passed, the lethargic creature slowly pushed itself closer to Brent until its head and one of its flipper-like appendages lied across his lap. He held some mix of greens and grain in his hand and held it out. Amphy sniffed it, took some into its mouth, and then spit it right out. He wiped it away.

Due to his accidental nap that left him awake the night before they reached Olivine, he'd been awake for over thirty hours. As much as he didn't want it to show, he could barely keep his eyes open. It was like he was in grade school again, dozing in the back of the class against all his efforts. He lost a battle with an overdue yawn. Zuki forced him to sleep and took over. The situation didn't let him rest well, however, and he woke up four hours later to resume his duties. She then slept herself.

Through the next day, it never got brighter, and the power went out late into the morning. The storm never relented. Trapped inside the lighthouse under simulated night, Brent, Zuki, Connie, Diane, and Preston—the man had arrived later the previous night after fixing things up at the Gym—weathered the storm. Flashes of lightning made the room come alive for moments at a time before it faded to blackness. The persistent roar of rain surrounded them.

After rummaging through some more supplies stored in the lighthouse, the group found ways to occupy themselves. Connie and Diane found an old flashlight and card decks and set up an intense card game between themselves, eight cards for each hand, eight face-ups on the floor. Every thirty minutes to the second, Diane excused herself to re-check Amphy's vitals and coax him into taking some short-acting medication. The intermingling sounds of the torrent against the glass, card game plays, and radio static from Preston playing with an old antenna signal device were going to drive him crazy.

"How are you holding up?" asked Connie while waiting for the nurse to finish her routine examination. He'd scooted off to the side of the machine's interior to give both girls enough room on the platform. She held a flashlight steady to let Diane see and it barely illuminated their three figures.

"As best I can, I guess," he said.

"You hurt your arm or something?"

Brent realized he'd been involuntarily rubbing around the fracture point. The healing bone irritated itself from within and there was nothing he could do about it. "Uhh, yeah. I broke it a while ago."

"How'd that happen?" Her words were sleepy, and he wasn't sure if she had any time to rest herself.

"I was helping some people out at Mount Mortar and got a little in over my head. I didn't let it rest much until recently, so I'm still paying for it," he said.

"So, you're not from around here, then? Taking the Gym Challenge?" she asked.

"I've got six whole badges already."

"How'd you get wrapped up in all this?"

"Honestly?" He laughed. "No clue. Just kind of ended up here."

"Well, I'm glad you called me to get my butt in gear. I didn't even notice the lighthouse was down the past few days. She told me to stay home but still didn't say anything about it." The girl puffed her cheeks, though it was difficult to see. She glanced at Amphy and outstretched her arm to scratch the Pokémon's hide.

"She felt like it was her own responsibility. I kinda get it, even if it's better this way." Brent tapped his palms against his thighs out of nervousness. He said, "She's going to be fine, right?"

"Are you kidding? She's the best Gym Leader in the Johto Region. She wouldn't let a stupid storm beat her if it bribed her a billion Pokédollars."

She and Diane returned to their flashlight-illuminated card game and left him in the dark with Amphy. If not for the threat of the strange illness, he'd release his own Pokémon to keep him company. He tried and failed to get a call to his mother through his Poké GEAR. Nearby communications towers must have been damaged too, and his old piece of junk didn't have the best receiver. However, Preston finally managed to get a signal with his antenna device. Brent listened to updates about the storm's damage and severity—included some major flooding around the bay—to pass the time until something happened.

Amphy sounded an almost inaudible bleating. He rubbed his fingers on the creature's snout, just above the nose, and for a split-second, the crystal on his forehead shined. He needed the Ampharos to hold on just a little bit longer. However, the time between the Pokémon's breaths was extending. It would go still for ten seconds at a time and Brent's own heart stopped until it finally inhaled.

"Please hold on," he muttered. "She'll be here soon."

Not that he could tell what time of day it was, but it was getting onto night when Zuki finally awoke and climbed into the machine with him. He couldn't see her face.

No words passed between them. The situation was so tense that he'd long since run out of things to say. She seemed to feel the same. He kept one hand on Amphy's head, and another squeezed one of Zuki's own.

Through the glass, the storm's unending torrent began to lighten. For the first time in over a day, the tiniest amount of light filtered into the lighthouse, and Brent realized it was the falling sun hidden behind the clouds. It was still dark, and proper night would arrive soon, but he basked in the minutes of daylight that managed to reach them.

The Pokémon in his lap was unveiled. He'd nearly forgotten what the Ampharos looked like. His eyes were immediately drawn to the gem on his head. It wasn't the dark red from before. It was an eerie, pitch black. His eyes widened.

"Diane!" he shouted in desperation. "I think Amphy's stopped breathing!"

He quickly removed himself from underneath the Pokémon just as the nurse scurried up the stairs, card game thrown in disarray. She felt around the creature for a pulse, sign of life, whatever, with a grave expression on her face. She ordered, "Check my bag for an emergency revival battery! I'll try to resuscitate."

The woman turned the Pokémon over and pumped its chest and abdomen, then put her mouth over its nose to blow air. The display was unsettling, but he paid it no mind and rummaged through Diane's bag. Connie lent her flashlight. Come on, come on, come on. The medical supplies were in complete disarray, but he eventually sifted through and found a small rectangular object with an electric symbol on it. The word "ELECTIRIZER" was written below.

"I've got it!" he said.

"Okay, when I say, you're going to jam it into the bottom of the foot and press the button," Diane said between breaths and compressions.

Brent fumbled with the medical device to unhook the cap and the insulated covering, which revealed a few prongs. It must have stored a high-voltage charge to revive Electric-type Pokémon, like a human defibrillator. His breaths were uneven and sweat rolled down his brow into his eye as he waited for her signal. He and Zuki shared a hesitant look. She nodded.

Diane continued her routine. She was going faster, and it was clear she was panicked as well. Whispers under her breath did nothing but make him more and more nervous. When was she going to say it? What even was the signal? He was freaking out!

"Now!" she shouted.

Brent jabbed the battery below Amphy's foot and pressed his thumb into the activation button. It vibrated in his hand, and shocks escaped that licked across and numbed his extremities. He couldn't even move his hand anymore, but it let him keep the device in place.

Amphy didn't move. Diane was losing hope. Brent squeezed Zuki's hand harder—he worried he was hurting her, but she put her other hand atop to reassure him. Brent closed his eyes.

The Pokémon took in one massive inhale. It kept breathing, to the point of hyperventilation. But it was breathing! He nearly fainted from the stress.

"Everybody, out the window!" called Preston. Brent traced his eyes down the stairs to the gentlemen, then to his outstretched arm, and then onto the horizon of the storm. The clouds had parted, and the fading sunlight shined brighter than anything he'd ever seen before. Zuki's hand still in his, he led her down the platform of the machine towards the door. They burst out onto the exterior walkway.

An avian silhouette emerged from within the sun. It headed right for them, shattering the sky at breakneck speed. The woman atop held something in her hand that he couldn't make out from a distance, but it made tears well in Brent's eyes. He wasn't crying, he wasn't crying. But he was so happy.

He didn't remember Skarmory having such a feathery tail though. It seemed far larger than before, its wings mightier, its crest grander. And what _was_ that light? He had to shield his eyes from the power of its rays. He realized part of it was coming from right beside him, from his messenger bag, and he reached a hand inside in confusion. His fingers wrapped around and withdrew a delicate, silky object.

It was a feather. For the life of him, Brent couldn't tell what color it was—as he turned it around in his hands, a different one seemed to strike his eyes for each angle he viewed it. He held it gently in his closed fist.

Connie and Preston joined them on the railing and shouted in support of the approaching figure. When he looked a second time, it was unmistakable. Jasmine and her Skarmory had arrived. No matter what he saw, he was overcome with every positive emotion imaginable. Brent raised his fist—odd feather in hand—and cheered.

* * *

 **The more I worked on this chapter, the longer, and longer, and longer it got. In my outline, its description was barely a sentence, and it ended up being way more important than I expected. This is also a case study in some things I'll be covering in my author's note on the final chapter. My productivity here was negatively impacted by (what I believe to be) a poor approach to how I'm plotting certain elements. I could improve how I'm working on it in practice.**

 **I've got my hands on Pokémon Shield! I'm enjoying it so far, but I haven't gotten very far because I was playing with a friend and he's visiting family this week. I don't have major thoughts on it yet, but I'm enjoying a lot of minor QOL changes and the new roster. Also, I'm wasting all my money on clothes as soon as I reach a new city, as you do.**

 **December 13th is the tentative release date for Chapter 29: The Final Heist. I'll see you then.**


	29. The Final Heist

**This story is co-developed and edited by Titan127.**

 **Disclaimer: Pokémon is a registered property of Nintendo, the Pokémon Company, and GameFreak. This work respectfully uses the world and characters of the Pokémon series, with no intent of harm on the original creators. Please support the official releases of the Pokémon franchise.**

 **Chapter 29: The Final Heist (5,587 words)**

* * *

The night was wrong, and Kris woke up to it.

She knew it was wrong because her eyes didn't lag to attention. She needed no time to adjust and she didn't feel like stretching. The blanket of night meant nothing. She was utterly awake, and in the moment, it was terrifying. Shifting slowly on her feet, she approached her room's main window, pushed the curtain aside, and peeked through the blinds. Her soundless view of the approach to the League was normal—no activity anywhere, barring a streetlight struggling to keep itself alive and blinking like the shifting lights of the city past the forest.

Still, Kris was unsatisfied. She slipped on some rubber-padded socks, threw a jacket over her pajamas for good measure, and felt her way to the door to let herself out into the Champion's Suite. In the hallway, a small bar of light traced the wall's perimeter and let her see where she placed her feet. The subtle glow barely fought back the blanket of night.

She crawled through the halls, where she was the only sign of life. As she passed Saber's door, Kris considered waking him to make sure she was just being a paranoid loser and had nothing to worry about. Wait, what was she thinking? She was an adult; she could deal with her own problems. She had to.

Nothing was out of the ordinary. Yet. Despite that, she couldn't shake the feeling. Her destination was the League's daycare center. All her Pokémon were holed up there, either asleep or bored out of their minds, and she had the overwhelming urge that she'd need them.

When she arrived at the elevator, she slammed the button with her fist. It didn't arrive as quickly as she liked, and she found herself rapidly tapping the button knowing full well it wouldn't make a difference. A sound chimed, the doors cracked, and her vision was flooded with light from inside the box. She similarly agitated the interior panel button until she was swept downstairs to the dedicated nursery floor.

She had class tomorrow, no, today, and exams were upon her in the next couple of months. More than once had Saber found her sleeping in her textbooks. It was cutting back the time she had to train, but she couldn't fall behind. She couldn't fall behind. She couldn't fall behind. Kris held her head, realizing that she'd developed one hell of a migraine. That slightly tense, high-pressure air inside the elevator deepened the throbbing.

When the doors swung open to the daycare, an Indigo League guard stared her down. He was positioned in front of an unoccupied reception desk, halls on his left and right leading to each indoor grotto. A Poké Ball gripped defensively in his hand caught her eye. He asked, "What are you doing here, Miss?"

"Can't sleep! I want to take my Pokémon for a stroll out on the plateau," she said.

"I've been ordered not to check out any Pokémon for the night. Upping security protocols, and all that," he replied.

"Right. Thanks anyway." She kept her straight face as much as possible, but inside her head, alarm bells screeched over that migraine.

His hand was shaking around that Poké Ball for some reason and he didn't drop the posture even as she pushed the elevator button to leave. She didn't recognize his face, and judging by his response, he didn't recognize hers.

She stepped back inside and waited for the elevator doors to close. They sealed shut and she let out a massive sigh of fear, of bewilderment, of surprise. Her face contorted every which way as she couldn't settle on one emotion, but she forced a blank expression when she realized there was only a few seconds to act. When the guard realized the elevator wasn't moving, he'd undoubtedly check. Which means she'd have to make the first move.

Krist slammed her fist on the door button. She quickly fell to her bullet start in the moments before the door peeked. Fingers gently brushing the ground, one leg bent. The doorbell chimed. She kicked.

"Hey, what are you—" The man was cut off as she cleared the opening doors and slammed the force of her whole body into him. Relatively small as she was, she packed a punch, and the man was sent flying across the room into the opposite wall. He screamed, punctuated by a splitting crack. His left leg twisted at an odd angle and his arm didn't fare much better. The Poké Ball he held bounced softly across the floor until it came to rest. Kris stood over the broken man.

"Look, buddy, I'm the Champion's daughter, and not a single guard here would keep me from my Pokémon." Towards a friend she might have felt bad abusing her privileged position. But here, she needed answers. "Who the hell are you?"

"Fuck you, girlie," he said.

She slammed her foot into his good arm. Another crack. Another scream. "I asked you a question."

Aside from groans of pain, he kept his mouth shut. Smart, all things considered. She took in a breath to cool down, stepped back, and looked around the floor. Everything was suspiciously quiet, as only the residential parts of the building were completely dead at night. Hairs on the back of her neck still stood on end, but that thrashing gave her a little more control of the situation.

Returning her gaze to the man she said, "I don't know what exactly is going on here, but you've got me a bit fired up. I'm pretty familiar with the politics my parents get up to, and I'm sure I could argue for your immunity if you let me know who you work for."

He spat at her.

"Your loss." She shrugged. Gently, she brought down her fist and bonked him on the head. It put him out cold. Gently.

Kris rummaged around his clothes to find the keys to the lockers behind the desks, but also came across a suspicious little device pinned over his left peck. She rolled it around in her hands, realizing it was a communication device of some sort. Knowing the guards usually used walkie-talkies, that only added fuel to her fire. It crumpled in her closed fist.

She hopped over the desk and used the key to find her locker key and then used _that_ key to open her locker. Six capsules—one Poké Ball, four Ultra Balls, and a Luxury Ball—and her nursery key stared her back. Hopping back over, she took off down the cream-gold hallway, turning once left, then right, then left, then left, disorienting herself among the endlessly featureless walls. When she arrived at her door, she unlocked the panel and pushed inside to the lush, artificial jungle in which she stored her team.

It was dark, of course, dimmed to let her diurnal Pokémon snooze the night away. She reached to the wall, feeling for a miniscule slider until she got her fingers around it, and pushed it up all the way to bring daylight to the abode.

Leo, her Heliolisk, was the first up, summoned to consciousness by the sun. The creature expanded his neck frill to bask in the light. Zara and Axe rumbled awake soon after. Rei, her Zweilous, was already eyes-open and arguing amongst herself, the two heads snapping at each other, and Eve, her Seviper, slithered out of a burrow in search of warmth.

She straightened her back and brushed hair from her eyes. She had work to do.

* * *

Proton adjusted his headset and leaned into his laptop. From where he was sitting, not a single thing could go wrong. He was holed up in the condemned building with his various security tools laid out and plugged into power lines from outside, something another grunt had help him set up. A few spare monitors played feeds from security cameras inside. The few he managed to grab, anyway. He tapped the mic.

"You're go for the operation," he said in a deep, professional voice.

" _Don't try to act tough, kid. That's not your brand,"_ retorted Petrel through his wire.

How else was he supposed to control the shaking? They still didn't have tabs on the Champion's suite, even if they had a few of the adjacent cameras. No matter how much they prepared for this, no matter how much security he cracked and safeguards he put in place, any amount of bad luck would wake the entire Indigo League up and make all of them undoubtedly, inarguably, comprehensively fucked.

Except him. Technically, he could put a boot through is tech and disappear off the grid. He didn't trust a single grunt not to rat him out if they were caught, so it was the only way he'd never be found.

"F-fine, fine, just keep on. I've cleared the back stairwell and I'll scramble the door security when you get there," he said. He found himself constantly refreshing the central database program, where he'd temporarily given himself max-level privileges. They were doomed if any of the security staff figured out a worm was wiggling around. He'd pull down his cap, but he needed to see.

Proton glanced at the cameras. One was starting to fizz out, probably fifteen years old or so. Those League assholes really need to update their tech. Just as with the database, he was habitually glancing and checking and double-checking. Years of doing this had conditioned him to not overlook any details, but his anxieties were factoring more into his obsession here.

A voice perked up in his ear. _"Yoohoo, we're here, bossman! Crack this door, would you?"_

Squeak. Go figure. He heard her humming constantly over the radio frequency. He figured that Petrel would shut her up so as not to jeopardize the mission, but no. No, he couldn't just have some peace to himself.

" _Hey Tomo, open the door, why don't you?"_ Squeak squeaked.

He slammed his finger on the hotkey and let them figure it out. They'd only have ten seconds to get everyone through the door. That's as long as he was willing to cut the signal. If anyone touched the door after ten, the alarms would fire. He closed his eyes, took in a breath, and waited.

* * *

Squeak smiled to herself, balled her fists at her chest, and shook with glee. Oh, this was so exciting! Just the thought of going behind the Pokémon League's back gave her enough energy to power the Region. But what would happen if they got caught? Nah, they couldn't get caught. Petrel was a deceitful badass, Proton could hack his way out of an iron box, Ariana could probably _buy_ the entire police force if they got arrested, and she might just be able to talk so much that even jail wouldn't want her. And all they had to game was the undeniable top spot as the greatest criminal organization the world had ever known. Riches beyond compare! Cool new Pokémon ripe for the taking! Her heart couldn't take it.

She stared back at their entourage of grunts. In the shadowed basements of the Indigo League, their black uniforms let them disappear into the walls. For the sake of stealth, they weren't wearing their stylish duds with the "Big R", though if you asked her, that would make this job all the cooler. Hadn't the bosses ever seen a heist movie? At least they had balaclava to balance out their coolness factor.

On Proton's signal, they burst through the door into the archive room, one after another, quickly as possible. Squeak felt like she was under the northern lights—in total darkness, a beautiful blue glow permeated from seemingly endless rows of servers. She couldn't see any of the outer walls. Directly in front of her, a walkway forward eventually faded into a nonexistent horizon. The panel lights on the floor were the only indicating that the Rockets weren't in a bottomless abyss.

And boy, it was cold. Hella cold. It must have been below zero in the room to keep all the electronics from overheating. Couldn't the League spare some thought for normal people coming through? The door resounded behind them when it slammed shut. No alarms sounded.

"Spread out," whispered Petrel, harshly. He was hunched over even more than usual. "Our guy's got the cameras on loop and the motion sensors jammed for now. Take what you can and _don't_ waste time."

She flopped down some goggles and let her eyes be filled with green. All these cool gadgets the Boss "acquired" made her feel like a super spy! Her teammates all spread out among the archive room, filling the space between servers like insects in a colony. Like a colony of Bug-types, they filled in every crack of their adopted nest and picked it dry of all its resources. She herself stepped down to the Dragon-type row and walked another twenty paces down until a label of "unknown coloration Dratini" caught her eye. She inspected the digital keypad. The screen was the same fluorescent blue.

"Five, five, five," she whispered to herself as she punched it in, muffled in her mask. She had the code list for each server block stored away somewhere, but she didn't need it after glancing it over a few times. The keypad waited a few moments, displaying "STANDING BY" and then "COMPLETE".

The panel slid open. Inside, storage-state Poké Balls sat on individual pedestals connected to the PC server. Squeak disconnected each one and threw them in a sack she carried. Pleased with herself, she skipped—spring, boing, bounce—to the next block of interest. Haughty thoughts swirled in her head about all the cool stuff she'd be able to show off to her friends when they got back. She swiped some more powerful Dragon-type Pokémon, all hers, nobody's but hers, and proceeded to the next row. Here were regional variants of Nihon-native Pokémon. You know, cool stuff. A few other grunts mingled between her, taking their own preferred pickings. All around her, hundreds of thousands of capsules were pilfered from the League's endless library of creatures.

As she busied herself looting, a voice crackled into her ear. _"Hey, uhh, we've got a problem."_

"Are you just being a woobie again?" she teased.

" _No! Somebody just took the elevator out of the Champion's suite."_ Squeak could almost hear his dampening armpits. For such a cool guy he advertised himself as, he really needed to work on the whole keeping cool thing.

"Well, just keep an eye on them. We still have time to bail if the League goes on alert."

The voice in her head went silent. However, the uneven breathing was loud and clear and kind of disgusting. She nabbed a few more Poké Balls before he said, _"Okay. Big problem. She's got company."_

Squeak tied her bag closed and tip-toed back to the central isle of the dark archive, where Petrel also had a hand to his receiver. She watched her step across the invisible floor until she stood next to him. Now that she thought about it, she had no idea why she was second for this mission. He glanced over at her.

"It's that damn Masuta kid," the scoliotic man groaned. Proton was probably giving a play-by-play in his communicator as well. "I don't think she knows exactly what we're doing, because she hasn't alerted anyone else."

Squeak eyed the LEDs that marked the main elevator through the darkness. The number was falling. Seven. A minute of wait. Six. Another minute. Five. She was checking every floor.

She reached down and touched her toes, then arched her back to stretch every muscle into action. Squeak loaded a Poké Ball in her hand in tandem with the executive. A few grunts behind, not in-the-know due to lacking receivers—to make sure the excessive radio traffic didn't get them found out—followed suit.

In the seconds before B5 changed to B6, encompassing red drowned the blue.

* * *

The deafening screech at the sixth basement floor ordered her Pokémon to action. As she held her ears in pain, Zara, Rei, and Axe burst out, blowing the half-opened elevator doors into pieces.

Kris knelt in pain inside the box, unaware of what it is that hit her. At least she knew that enemies were abound, and they were out for blood. She screamed through her broken senses, "You have to protect the servers!"

The earthquake in her head began to fade Her eyesight shook in every direction, unable to focus, and she watched the unlimited afterimages slowly overlap on figures in the dark. Through the ringing, she heard the high-pitched command, "Hyper Voice, again!"

She ordered her own Hyper Voice from Rei. The Zweilous, who had taken to the air in the server room, released her own deafening cry. Though it still pierced her eardrums, the impact of both destructive sound waves dampened each's individual impact and she was able to crawl from the elevator and drag herself to a defiant stand.

"I don't know who the hell you are, but I'm not in a good mood," she said, her own words muted through her head. "Leo, Sunny Day!"

She heard countless move orders at once. Axe placed his massive body before her and shone with reflective light, nearly every attack chiming like glass as they bounced off the reflective coating. Her Heliolisk finished charging power behind her and threw his ball of energy to the roof of the archive. It exploded with artificial sunlight. The server room was plain as day.

Before her were figures in black. They had Pokémon at the ready, including Weezing, Raticate, Golbat, Nidorino, and a lone Jigglypuff that had released the Hyper Voice. Dozens more filled her periphery between the severs, each with their own monsters. She was surrounded.

Kris couldn't risk damaging the servers at all. Pokémon were stored directly here. She spoke as fast as possible to command her team. "Crunch, Poison Jab, Dragon Claw! Anything close-quarters you have, just don't hit the machines!"

Axe lunged down the central walkway with his massive body and brought down his charged claws, tearing through a Quagsire that was too slow to dodge. Every Pokémon that successfully cleared unloaded their own counterattacks. Bite, Horn Attack, Air Cutter, every possible type struck the Haxorus's hide and he groaned in pain.

Through the enemy fire, Eve weaved into position and sunk her fangs into another Pokémon. Each individual opponent wasn't well trained or physically powerful, but there were just so many. An orange blur circled the roof and with each dive, she picked off Pokémon after Pokémon and slammed them into a far wall, but her most powerful fighter was being held back by the precarious situation.

"Rei, air support!" she shouted. Her Zweilous used Hyper Voice again, temporarily stunning most of the black-garbed people and their own fighters. But it was only a short reprieve, because that Jigglypuff wasn't in any way affected.

A beautiful song wafted through the air. Axe made to retaliate, but the Fairy-type move passed through his ears. It was too much. Combined with the constant fire the massive Pokémon was receiving, the powerful energy made him topple unconscious to the ground. An enemy Arbok closed in for the final attack, and she was milliseconds too late in reaching for his Poké Ball. Venomous fangs bared.

A swirling orange body tore dove like a meteor and smashed the Arbok into the floor. From the resounding impact, every light lining the floor shattered in sequence. Zara, in Axe's place, tore into opponents down their center line, dragging bloody marks through each Weezing and Venomoth and Fearow unfortunate enough to get in her way. Her fiery roar caught everyone off guard, even herself. Kris managed to level Axe's Poké Ball and recall the downed creature, leaving her four against the onslaught.

Eve's serpentine body swirled among the crowd of attackers, too slippery to be caught by attacks. Zara and Rei ripped through those they could pick off, the latter occasionally throwing another Hyper Voice to dampen the moves of every Pokémon present. That left Leo, who was defending her left flank down the first server row by sending Thunderbolts down the narrow path. To her unguarded right, a shadowy figure appeared, a small humanoid armed with vicious talons. A Sneasel.

She wasn't aware that it snuck up on her. It didn't announce its presence. She only realized it was there when its wicked claws tore a chunk from her side.

She was thrown to the ground and couldn't suppress the piercing shout that escaped her lips. Curled on the floor, she pressed her hands to her side in an attempt to keep the warm fluid from escaping, and her vision blurred again. Precious seconds passed while she was incapacitated. The shadowy figures stood over her.

"I gotta say, it was awfully stupid of you not to bring backup," said a high-pitched female voice.

Beyond him, Eve was overwhelmed by sheer numbers, Rei was forced to ground herself when an Air Slash clipped her wing, and a song from the Jigglypuff dropped Zara from the sky, the Charizard halfway between asleep and unconscious. Leo was backed against the elevator shaft by the same Sneasel.

"Did you really think you could take us all on your own? Just one little girl?" A male voice. The question burned her to the core, more than even the draining wound in her abdomen. She craned her head upwards, just enough to meet his eyes through the mask.

She wasn't just one little girl. She had to be able to face any obstacle without so much as a frown. That's what a Champion did. They never cracked, they never broke, and they never let themselves be overtaken. Kris slammed a stained knuckle into the floor and pushed herself up in agony. She had to. She had to. She _had_ to. The man slammed his foot into her back, and her into the floor. She screamed in pain.

None in attendance had noticed that the elevator was moving again. The doors hung open to an empty shaft. Against the wall, the cables scraped against one another as the transport plummeted, having already stopped at a destination on a higher floors.

"Wait..." The head goon as he realized what was happening. The realization was dawning on Kris as well even as she faded from consciousness. He shouted, "Everybody, stand back!"

In the instant the elevator cleared the opening, twin waves of frigid energy sprayed forth. The beams crossed overhead and traced the floor and everything was buried under a thick layer of frost, coating the servers, people, and Pokémon alike. All were consumed by the ice. She watched it crawl up their bodies and overtake them even as they struggled and cried out. The air inside went from chilly to unnaturally frigid and it temporarily shocked Kris back to consciousness. The elevator touched ground. She whipped her head to the new arrivals. Two powerful Dragonite—draconic Pokémon with rounded yet muscular bipedal bodies—declared superiority through their onslaught. One was a common orange, but the elder and wiser of the pair proudly wore its reflective green scales. Behind them, her father and brother, in the traditional attire of the Dragon Clan, held out their arms to command.

"Get away from my daughter. _Now_." She had never before heard that bloodcurdling undertone in his voice, but the fear she felt under her father's presence was matched by her relief.

Both Dragonite exploded into the room, mercilessly freezing stragglers who tried to escape through the aisles of servers. The Sneasel jumped to meet them but was sent into the ground by a Dragon Claw.

Saber rushed to her side. Kris couldn't find strength to turn her head and meet his eye. However, his boisterous self-instruction while he wrapped a piece of ripped cloth tight around her eased her mind. She reached out an unsteady hand until she found his forearm. It rested there. In her periphery, she could see that the probably-leader managed to escape a freezing, only his boots encased in ice. In a frantic tone, he called his Weezing to defend him. A few other attackers that miraculously survived an arctic fate stood defensive between the statues of their comrades.

"The ice is thick enough to protect the servers," her father announced. "Let's go wild."

"Right!" said Saber as he finished tying her bandage. The warmth of his arm escaped her when he stood to fight and was replaced by that splitting cold that now permeated the room. He told her, firmly, to stay low. She didn't listen.

The two Dragon masters started down their unknown enemies. A standoff gave her space to push. She sent fire through her muscles, willing them to act despite all their insistence not to. Her body was heavy, but she didn't care. She rose. She slammed her foot into the ice to declare that she could, and would, stand.

"I said down!" Saber ordered. "You're too hurt. Let Dad and I deliver the almighty hammer of justice!"

"No." She tightened the bandage around her even harder and pulled herself between the two. The chill of ice awakened Zara as well, and when the Pokémon realized her Trainer was ready, she fell into a battle stance in parallel between both Dragonite, baring her claws. Her father cast her a furious glance, as did Saber, but a few moments of exchange brought them to understanding.

The criminals backed away, nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. With their back to the elevator, and the stairwell in their vicinity, no more exits existed to allow them to slip out. The one with the high-pitched voice asked, "What do, boss?"

"We fight," he said.

"Won't we lose?"

"We lost a long time ago."

Kris didn't care about that hint of sadness in his voice. All she cared about was standing up and fighting like the Champion she was meant to be. The black-garbed intruders called their own attacks. Sludge Bomb, Hyper Fang, Crunch, it didn't matter. The three Masutas gave their orders.

"Hyper Beam!" Her father and Saber.

"Flamethrower!" Herself.

From the gaping maws of three Pokémon, beams of energy erupted that consumed all in their path as they rocketed across the main hallway. The white energy twirled and mingled with the flames until it was an unstoppable twister. What remained of the unknown enemies disappeared into pure, destructive light.

* * *

"What the hell were you _thinking?"_

Kris shrunk in the shadow of her father. On the hospital bed, she shuffled around inside the layers of cloth and medical equipment covering the wound in her side. She thought it was unnecessary. She'd slept off worse injuries before, but the League insisted she be taken to the infirmary. The man stood over her with his arms crossed, tapping his foot loud enough for the sound to ricochet inside the hospital room. His cape rippled with his every movement. He was the only blot of color against the stark white medical everything.

"I just wanted—"

He cut her off immediately with a resounding shout. The tone in his voice raised without an upper bound. "What you wanted was completely, utterly irresponsible! You didn't tell security. You didn't tell your brother. You didn't tell _me_."

"There wasn't any time! They would have been long gone if I roused everyone and scared them off," she said.

"I don't care, Kris. It's not worth risking your own safety."

"It's what a Champion would do!"

This seemed to stun her father. His features softened, he ran a hand through his disheveled hair, and he unfastened his cloak to sit on the edge of the hospital bed. A twinge of pain ran through her as he disturbed the flat bedding, but she wouldn't show it.

"A Champion is supposed to be a symbol for everyone in the Region. The whole reason we exist is because the League wants to give people someone to look up to" he began. Kris dropped her head. She hated the softness behind his words. "We drive crime down just by existing, we break political deadlocks by staring hard enough, and you know why? It's because people look at us and realize that others are worth believing in. It's not just you versus the world."

He turned his head to her. His vibrant red locks were a beacon amongst the white, though from certain angles, there were nigh-imperceptible grays hidden within. "You're doing something both your Mom and I did when we started out. I'm hoping you can dump the stupid kid inside you long before we did."

Her father reached out a hand and rested it on her shoulder. Gentle, yet firm. Friendly, yet strict. She looked down at the bed and said, "Thanks, Dad."

Pushing himself from the bed, he refastened his cape. Whatever guard he'd dropped for a few moments raised anew with his full regalia. His cloak flowed in his wake as he exited the door of the hospital room, leaving her in a contemplative silence.

After a few seconds, he leaned his head back in the door. "Oh, and by the way, you're grounded."

She shouted after him as he slammed the door shut.

* * *

Lance used all his power to urge his simple walk forward. Hanging back to his left, a League reporter struggled to keep pace and nearly stumbled to the floor. To his right, the Viceroy's right hand clicked her heels at a breakneck speed. Pure fury was etched over her face. A few more stragglers of importance followed his stampede through the building. Lance called back to the reporter, "Get your microphone ready."

He fumbled with a massive camera bag and began to falter behind them. Saber, who shadowed at his side, quickly addressed him. "If you need my testimony, call. Meanwhile, I'll be giving her a piece of my mind and an extended lecture!"

Lance said nothing but pulled his son into a hug. Though he was surprised for a few moments, he returned the gesture. Lance gave him a few firm pats on the back for good measure. They separated, and without another word, Saber disappeared down to hall. He and his entourage resumed their advance.

His footsteps picked up as he turned the corner, door to the main lobby in sight. Fortunately, the infirmary was attached to the first floor with along with the in-house Pokémon Center for ease of access. He threw open the doors and made his presence clear. Law enforcement officers peppered every surface of the Indigo Plateau's main lobby, handcuffing criminals, turning on lights, dusting for prints, barring doors, and all of them stopped immediately to come to attention.

He scanned his eyes across the men and woman. Their navy-blue uniforms were a nearly identical color to the one he himself favored. Kneeling on the ground of the first floor were dozens garbed in black, restrained and unmasked. Almost all of them were burned, some completely unconscious, and the smell of fire filled his nostrils. Part of it might have been the multiple Arcanine on standby, the magnificent canine Pokémon growling to keep the more functional detainees in line.

"At ease!" Lance shouted. He approached the captain of the unit who stood in front of a bound, hunched man. Despite his command, the captain remained at attention until he spoke to her directly. "Captain, what do you know about them?"

"This one here was surprisingly talkative," she said, motioning to the purple-haired main on the ground. He was still alive, but barely. "They're Rockets."

He felt his blood boil in his heart as it pumped faster and faster. Lance knelt before the criminal, who raised his head and met the Champion's gaze.

"Why did you do this?" It wasn't a question. It was an interrogation.

He was surrounded by medical personnel who were treating his burns. Slurring his words, the purple-haired man said, "No reason. Just chasing a ghost."

Lance wasn't certain he wasn't delirious. He leveled another intense look at the captain. The woman seemed to back away for a few moments. She said, ""T-there might have been a team outside. They managed to sabotage some of the League's best digital security, but we haven't found any evidence of tampering within the premises."

"Anything else?" he asked.

"We, erm, confiscated their communication devices. They're using radio, but the leader's here is receiving shortwave across the whole Region. My team is working to track down the origin."

"Search the city to round up any stragglers. They couldn't have gone far." He knew the captain wasn't an idiot and already gave the command, but she still complied verbally. She barked a few more orders at her companions as they led Rockets outdoors to waiting transports.

"What will you do, sir?" the captain asked.

He would have to wait until their research on the radio system came up conclusive, plus getting correct approval from the council and Viceroy, plus more bureaucratic nonsense. He wanted to throw it all away and storm out of the building. The reporter, who had been waiting in anticipation with a microphone, jumped into position when he motioned. He didn't care that, by telegraphing himself, they'd have time to escape. He wanted them to know what was coming.

"They hurt my daughter," he said into the waiting mic. "When I find them, I'm going to destroy the Rocket Syndicate."

* * *

 **Hey, I'm on schedule this time!**

 **I've been loving Pokémon Shield so far. For reasons that escape me, I'm attempting a blind nuzlocke (which is hopefully the first Nuzlocke I'll ever manage to complete, as I've dropped the other two I tried). Seven of my Pokémon have died, but I continue onward, if not for me, than for those I haven't lost yet. The unfortunate part of taking my team with a new Pokémon game is that I've been avoiding regular fanfiction archives for the series like the plague for fear of spoilers.**

 **Six chapters remain. Chapter 30: Progeny premiers January 3rd** **. See you around.**


	30. Progeny

**This story is co-developed and edited by Titan127.**

 **Disclaimer: Pokémon is a registered property of Nintendo, the Pokémon Company, and GameFreak. This work respectfully uses the world and characters of the Pokémon series, with no intent of harm on the original creators. Please support the official releases of the Pokémon franchise.**

 **Chapter 30: Progeny (10,753 words, length warning)**

* * *

They followed a railroad east. Among trees barely clinging to their reddened leaves and evergreens standing proud as ever, they had carved a circular battlefield in the dirt of Route 42 with the tips of their shoes. On one side of the field, Gold and Crystal stood at each other's sides. Well, Gold couldn't sit still if he tried. He spent most of the time between orders hopping on two feet like an infant on too much sugar. His partner's stone expression could only hope to make up for the lost intimidation.

"Penelope, use Swo—"

"Use Magical Leaf, Marigold!" Gold's sudden shout drowned Crystal's order, leaving her Ariados confused and scrambling.

However, Marigold heard the order loud and clear. She spun her head to create momentum and then whipped her head leaf forward. Instead of a single projectile, dozens of smaller crescents snapped from its surface forward. Then, they stopped. Each surrounded by a purple aura, they lingered in the air for a tense few seconds, before snapping in the direction of the nearest Pokémon.

Arden's flame sacs burst to capacity as the magical objects raced towards him. Ciel had little time to act, but he put his whole body into it. He slid his boot into the dirt, put out his arm, fingers extended wide, and shouted, "Flamethrower!"

The torrent of flame cut through the air, incinerating the leaves and singing the tips of the trees it passed overhead. Whoops. Ciel had forgotten to order his Quilava to aim high. Despite the attack, numerous crescents escaped disintegration and Arden was left wide open. Mantis appeared before him in a flash and brandished both blades. As if time slowed, the Scyther tore endlessly through the air, one cut after another, kicking up dust, not letting a single molecule of air go undisturbed. The field of cuts he created proved the perfect defense and tore the Magical Leaf to pieces before it could make contact.

Strings of web flew across the clearing dust and adhered to Mantis's body. More of his plates were inadvertently stuck together as he struggled against it, including sticking his own shoulder and right limb to his torso. He flared his wings without command and flew skyward to stay out of harm's way.

Dang! Ciel couldn't order Arden to burn his Ally free without serious damage, and almost all of Mantis's moves were based on his high speed and maneuverability. Across the field, both opponent Pokémon were charging to attack.

"Penelope, Poison Sting!"

Arden had no way to dodge. He fired an Ember in desperation that was deftly dodged by Penelope pushing off her four right legs and flipping in the air as it passed under. The Ariados snapped her mandibles, shining purple and dripping with venom, and struck him in the side hard enough to send him skidding across the ground. She must have completed a Swords Dance while Ciel was defending, meaning her attack power was magnified. The venom worked fast—moments later, he collapsed.

With Arden incapacitated, both Crystal and Gold focused their efforts on Ciel's one remaining fighter. The former urged the latter to focus their fire. A few more Magical Leaves were impossible for the Scyther to dodge, and just one stray String Shot gummed up his wings and sent him plummeting. He crashed into the dirt.

Ciel raised his hand to call the match. Neither of his Pokémon were in good condition, so there was no reason to continue. The three convened as a group to treat their team members. Crystal used a pair of shears from her bag to trim away the webbing on Mantis, while he and Gold quickly treated the Quilava's poison wound by spraying an antidote and rubbing disinfectant on the puncture wounds.

He dropped cross-legged on the ground, lost in thought. A single finger tapped impatiently against his knee and he grimaced with each scenario replaying in his head. He sighed.

"Felt any better about that one?" Crystal asked as she settled in next to him.

He shook his head "It's my fault for not preparing for doubles earlier, but it's so difficult to manage against two opponents. You two can stay on top of things with one Pokémon each."

She blinked. "You think he's on top of things?"

Gold, surprising no one was attempting to coax his Doduo into stick her heads in the dirt. He caked his hands in soil to dig a shallow hole and mimicked the motion himself. Ciel was certain that was a cartoon myth. He said, "Not making me any more confident."

"Well, we still have some time before we get to Mahogany to practice. You good for one more today?"

He declined, eyeing his five capsules. They'd already done three sets, first with Raven and Hector, the second with a determined yet drained Raven and Clovis, and the third with Arden and Mantis. Potions could only take them so far and they'd need a few days of rest to return to peak condition. Pokémon regeneration was a miracle. They could usually make minor and moderate injuries disappear like they never existed at all, whereas humans would scar from most anything.

Next time, Ciel would have to take up the "Gym Leader" role, since he was also helping them practice for _their_ Gym Battles. This was their routine as they approached his new home.

He dismissed his two combatants to join the gaggle of Pokémon from their shared parties, who quickly circled around Arden to ward off the cold. The rodent Pokémon was like a walking campfire and, as Ciel had come to realize, he enjoyed his contributions. He squea If anything, constantly burning helped improve his long-term output.

"It's strange to be heading back after so long," Ciel said. That chill in the air he felt the first, and only, night he stayed was instantly recognizable. It stuck in the back of his mind that day, and he knew they were getting closer by the day. If they kept following the railroad, they'd eventually arrive at Mahogany Village.

"I know it's a little early, but let's end the hike here. Today took a lot out of me and my legs feel like jelly," Lyra said. She confirmed their location on her Poké GEAR while they spoke.

"Fine by me." He walked over to the center of their foot-drawn circle and withdrew some camping supplies from his backpack. By virtue of having the largest bag, he carried the tents for all three of them, one inside and the other two strapped to the exterior. Ciel shouted over his shoulder, "Hey, Gold! Get the food ready for our Pokémon."

"Aye aye, captain! Leave it to me!" the other boy said.

From what Ciel knew, they were over the halfway point of Route 42, since they had crossed over Mount Mortar a day prior. It was about for days, give or take, until they arrived. They were starting to slope upwards again after dropping into the valleys, and it unfortunately let freezing winds blow through. Once they got further up the highlands, it would warm up again, if only slightly, and they'd be in the home stretch.

Ciel set about pitching the three tents. He could do it mechanically, with barely any effort at all. He stretched out the ground cloth, then swiftly assembled the poles and locked them together with a string. After draping the first fly and fastening everything together, he realized he hadn't grabbed the mallet to hammer the stakes in. The dirt was too hard from the cold to do it himself.

"Hector," he called back. "Want to stomp around for me?"

His Rhyhorn lumbered across the cold ground away from the group. He'd grown considerably over the last couple of months; whereas he used to come up to Ciel's knees, Hector now towered past his waist. It was pretty impressive for having been the runt of the litter. Too bad Clovis hadn't pulled the same biological miracle. As if sensing the judgement, the diminutive Pidgeotto turned his head—crown feathers at attention—and screeched at him.

Hector nearly pushed him over when he failed to slow down and Ciel laughed whilst toppling over. After sitting himself up, he pointed out the half-driven stakes around each of the tents. The Rhyhorn wound up, lifted himself on his back legs for a few moments, and slammed a foot down onto the first peg, spearing it deep. Ciel guided him around the campsite to secure each and every tent, and when the job was done, Gold tossed him a nutritious lump of luminescent Kantonian moss to give the Pokémon. A dry tongue massaged the muscles in his palm.

Ciel pulled open his tent flap and sat half-in, half-out with a blanket covering his lap. He dug around his backpack and pulled out a book: _The Game Design of Pokémon Battles_ by some guy named Takahashi. He compared a lot of simple battle strategies to board and card games, and Ciel found his flow-charts an amazing way to recontextualize his decision making. If the opponent attacks, your branched choices are to evade, defend, or tank the hit. It's like having a single action point to spend on your next turn. If you evade or tank, you can order a counterattack. If you defend, you need to create space or strengthen your defenses to avoid a follow through. Alongside the book, he scratched some self-pointers in a new notebook he bought to replace the training notes lost at sea.

As night fell, the forest disappeared around him. He needed to squint to read the pages. A few moments of light were granted when a freight train flew by along the nearby tracks and then it fell to darkness again. Gold and Crystal herded the Pokémon closer to the tents and the latter lit a torch from Arden's ignition to create a static campfire for themselves. Ciel moved a little closer to the light.

"That should just about do it," said Crystal as she dumped logs onto the completed fire. She slapped wood dust from her hands. "If we freeze to death in our sleep, I'm not to blame."

She sat inside her own tent around the campfire. She opened the Poké GEAR on her wrist and, after some fiddling and strange interference, managed to tune in to a radio station coming out of Mahogany. She listened intently as the weather report dragged on. At least it gave them an idea of what they'd be up against in the final leg.

As he kept flipping through the pages, he saw her occasionally glance at him in his periphery, as if wanting to say something. After the sixth or seventh time, he pressed the book closed. "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing. I just… it's cool that your parents are the Gym Leaders." She was strangely unsure about her own statement. She turned the radio down a bit.

"It's par for the course, I guess. My parents have worked for the Pokémon League as long as I can remember, and this just seems like an extension of that. It's not much of a privilege to me," he said.

"What did they do before?"

"They were substitutes," he said. "Rather than closing Gyms, the League placed them where a regular Leader was gone for maternity leave, or injury, or whatever. After that they were battle consultants who trained new League staff, so they were pretty suitable successors."

"So your mum is Ice, just like Pryce. And your dad is?"

"Dark." Though Raven was his first Pokémon by complete chance, he wouldn't deny that his father specializing in the Dark Type helped him make sense of battling with his own partner. It wasn't usually direct coaching—that was his mother's area—but the secondhand experience helped.

"What's wrong between you and your dad?" she asked.

There's the question she _actually_ wanted to ask. He knew it was coming, and he didn't want to answer it, yet he made no effort to avoid it. Maybe it was because of that afternoon in the park with Brent that had set him on track in the first place. He exhaled heavily.

"I'm what's wrong." He said it forcefully. She perked up immediately and he soaked in the humiliation of her stare. "At least, I think so. I don't know."

She seemed to regret starting the conversation, but Ciel recognized that he needed to talk to _someone_ about it. He'd been bottling it up, muttering to himself, dreading the day he'd face his parents in battle because of all that loomed behind it. But he kept moving forward regardless.

"My dad did something bad. We both know that. We avoided talking about it for years and nothing ever changed, but I only realized recently that he's been doing everything to try to make up for it. But I haven't. I can't seem to accept that he's making progress all the while sitting here doing absolutely nothing."

She asked, "Do you want to accept it?"

"Y-yeah." He repeated himself. "Yes. I just don't know why I haven't done it yet."

"I think this is the part where I'm supposed to give you advice, but I really don't know. I've never been in this kind of situation before." She gazed into the campfire and let the conversation die down, but Ciel needed to keep talking. It would get his mind working in preparation of the upcoming day.

"What are your parents like?" he asked.

"Well, you've seen them before," she said, surprised that he spoke up again, "and they're about the same at home."

He tilted his head at the oddly solemn undertone. In their sparse interactions, Crystal's parents seemed nothing but supportive and a happier couple than he'd ever encountered in his life.

Crystal winced as she spoke. "My Nan is too much sometimes and travels a lot for Contest work in Hoenn and Sinnoh. That's basically the only reason my Mum set up her flower business. She wanted someone always at home to take care of me. I think it's made her too protective, and whenever Nan suggests changing things around the house, they get into a big shouting fight."

Reminded, she fetched an azure flower that stuck out her bag's side pocket. She turned it over in her fingers. She'd intercepted the delivery when they passed through Ecruteak.

"You ever get caught in the middle?" he asked.

"All the damn time." She groaned. Mum always drags me in to prove her point. I'd lock myself in my room and play with Maron—he was an Azurill then—until everything blew over. That, or steal Nan's old contest outfits and try to put a new one together from the pieces."

"What about him?" he asked, pointing his thumb to Gold. He was currently entertaining the gaggle of Pokémon by spinning himself upside-down on his own head, like a Hitmontop without the spike. Or the grace.

"His dad's divorced, so it's just them. His mom's not the best lady around, but he goes to visit every few months, more to make sure she doesn't go crying to a judge or anything," she said.

Ciel smiled to himself, though part of him felt awful about it. He wished neither of them had to go through that. But she looked happy enough about speaking her and his stories, and Ciel shared that feeling. He pulled his knees close to his chest.

He stared up at the sky. Sometimes, he forgot to look up and just soak in the majesty of the untamed world. His one day in Mahogany was the first time in his life he'd ever seen a sky so bright, but it followed him everywhere through the Johtoan wilderness. He was sure the infinite shining flames reflected in the domes of his eyes.

Crystal was tending to the fire with a branch in hand when he heard some familiar names on the radio. He said, "Hey, can you turn that back up?"

"Oh, sure," she said. She pumped up the volume on her radio again, where a news report had taken over the station.

"— _the Indigo League to double its guard staff. It has also ordered a comprehensive reevaluation of its digital security after the attack exposed notable vulnerabilities in its system,"_ spoke the caster. _"The Viceroy and Council Chair are expected to give official statements early tomorrow. Rocket Syndicate, especially after Champion Lance Masuta's daughter was critically injured when she stumbled upon the operation. From an interview with Lance himself, insiders predict that the League will commit to dismantling the Rocket organization entirely."_

Ciel's blood ran cold and he immediately grabbed for the front pocket of his bag. His hands slipped on the zippers, but he managed to open the pack and grab his own, broken Poké GEAR. After an agonizing wait through the damaged boot-up, he opened his contacts, scrolled to Kris's phone number, and pressed "call".

Ring. Ring. Ring. There was no answer. His eyes raced around, and he barely caught a glimpse of a confused Crystal.

Ciel tried a second time _._ Still nothing. Color was starting to drain from his face as he imagined his friend, helpless, clinging to life. When the phone finally connected, he didn't even know who he expected to pick up knowing she was in bad condition.

"Hello?" he asked desperately. "Is Kris there, is she okay? What happened to her? What's going on?"

" _Calm down, man! No need to get so worked up,"_ said an unmistakable, girly voice. His breath hitched.

"Kris? Is that you?"

She laughed, then said something offhanded in Sinnohan, he assumed. There was a minor cough interspersed. _"You ever met anyone else like me? You ready for our rematch yet?"_

Ciel's mind was empty. He blinked. "Are you, uhh, are you okay?"

 _"I'm just fine and dandy, but thanks for the concern. Why wouldn't I be?"_

"B-but, the news said you got hurt," he sputtered.

 _"Just a scratch. A good long power nap and I was patched up fine, like a knee scrape. You ever get those as a kid? I tripped on stuff all the time as a kid when I was out running,"_ she said.

Ciel was still processing, had no idea what was going on, and couldn't figure out what to say. He was coming down from a high he never signed up for and felt like his brain might melt and slosh around inside his skull. All he could do was breathe. Hard.

"Well, okay," he said, unsteady. "And I don't think I'm ready for a rematch."

 _"Come on! I've been waiting, like, half a year already. Just get your butt in gear so I can kick it a second time, okay?"_

"Okay. Okay? Okay," he said. Each repetition was a different inflection.

 _"Can't talk long. I'm grounded and not supposed to have my Pokétch. Bye-bye!"_ Her cheery voice fizzed out when the line hung up.

He looked to Crystal, and then to Gold, who had come wandering over to inspect his commotion. They both looked utterly baffled. Crystal asked, "What was that about?"

Ciel leaned over backwards into his tent until his back dramatically contacted the ground. He stared up at nothing.

"I'm done for today," he said.

* * *

Ciel shouted back to his friends and continued his climb up the hill. One after another, he found a new handhold and foothold to help weather the thirty-degree grade. Rising mountains to his left, descending steppes to his right, he continued onward up the steep ascent.

His team each had their own ways of overcoming the verticality. Hector's low center of gravity allowed him to walk as normal. Arden was latched onto his spines, letting the bulldozing Pokémon do the work for him. Clovis, of course, was purposely flaunting his winged privilege by scattering feathers and chirping in delight. Mantis chose not to fly, and instead speared his blades like climbing picks into the hillside to drag himself upward.

Ciel spared a second glance at the last member of his party who held up their rear. Each step, Raven dug her claws deep into the frozen soil. It was a slow pace, however, and she trailed behind the rest of the Pokémon. He offered the Poké Ball. To no surprise, she ignored it and continued to climb, leaving Ciel no choice but to keep leading.

"Are we there yet?" shouted Gold further down the hill. His Doduo shot past Ciel up the hillside.

"I swear, if you ask that question again, I'm going to toss you into the Lake of Rage when we get there," replied Crystal. She held on tight to her sun hat.

"Don't worry! We're almost there!" Ciel shouted back. He didn't know it for a fact. All he had to go on was the alpine chill, vague distance estimates since the start of their trip, and the clearing radio signals on his Poké GEAR. He was right.

The home he had never known revealed itself as the incline flattened. The twenty-something buildings of Mahogany Village looked as timeless as when he left them. Crystal, Gold, and their collective Pokémon caught up behind him, and together they followed the road into the quiet town.

Ciel led them through a vague collection of paths that crisscrossed and circled around the town square. Some of the banners and torches from the welcoming party were still raised, having either been reused for another party or left untouched through the year. They passed the worn and faded Pokémon Center, its doors broken on their hinges but a warmth emanating from inside. The small schoolhouse was alive inside. It was too early for Laina to be out of classes. He noticed some snow piles hiding unmelted in the shadows of buildings.

The village ended at a rough circle of houses. Only about seven or eight, surrounding a decorative fountain that was long-since emptied of its flow. The path traced concentric to the fountain, and like spokes on a wheel, walkways extended to each of the houses. Ciel dug around in his pocket for a new copy of his house key that had been mailed in the care package.

"Kind of a dump, huh?" asked Gold. He was shivering in his coat. He slid his foot along the ground and kicked across the packed-dirt ground to prove his point. There was barely a blade of grass to be seen.

"Not much better than the dump you two come from," he shot back. "It has a nice feeling to it."

He walked the path up to his own house. The wooden building was unremarkable—it was constructed in a style that weathered time, with a square, paneled frame and a simple sloped roof. Using his key, he and his friends stepped inside. They removed their shoes.

The entrance hallway's tan panels were broken up by a dark wooden frame and lit by an open electric bulb. The other rooms were the same. It should have been an empty house. Today was a weekday and his parents were obligated to keep the doors open for would-be challengers passing through the mountains. They knew he was coming, however, and when he led Gold and Crystal into the matted family room, they sat on their knees around the table.

His mother, with her dark hair and darker eyes, wrapped in her fine white robes like a spirit of the tundra. His father, with his same green eyes and light hair, spartan and neutral in clothing. Had they really been waiting all morning for him to arrive? Confused as he was, a welcoming blanket enveloped him, or maybe it was the space heater.

He croaked out, "Hey."

"Hey," his mother repeated. She shot up to a stand. "Hey? _Hey!_ You leave for the better part of a year and the best thing you've got when you finally get back is 'hey?'"

She threw herself on him and wrapped him in the tightest hug he'd ever felt. He could hardly believe his mother had that kind of strength, and all of it was being poured into him at once. At first he knew it was out of love, but then his ribs started to spear into his lungs. She said, "And then you went and nearly drowned yourself. What kind of gall do you have to be that irresponsible and then have nothing to say for yourself when you get back?"

"What did you say to grandma and grandpa when you got back?" he managed.

The pressure was suddenly released, and his mother stepped back, glowing. She twirled around in her socks. He bent over, gasping. Her minor wrinkles seemed to fade when her face rotated back to him. "I think I asked if they had anything to eat."

"Yeah, you got anything to eat?" shouted Gold from behind him.

"Don't be rude, you idiot," Crystal told him. Though, Ciel knew for a fact she complained about her stomach rumbling an hour ago.

"Oh, it's you two! You got earthy nicknames, right? Crystal and, uhh, Tungsten?" she asked. Gold went red in the face—whether out of anger or embarrassment—and Ciel's mother laughed aloud. "I'm kidding, Gold. I wouldn't be a Gym Leader if I was senile. Now, make yourself at home, my husband's a better cook than you'll see on TV."

Crystal took up the invitation and kneeled, removing her sun hat and resting it on the table. She slipped off her coat and rolled it under her knees. Gold threw himself into a slide to home plate and propped his head up on his elbow when he came to a stop. When his mother motioned him forward, he stayed.

She said, "Aren't you going to come sit?"

He ignored her question, as his attention was completely focused on the only person in the room who had yet to speak. Daku Fauder shared with his son an invisible conversation. The months they had to wonder about this moment came rushing back to them, silencing Ciel's mother and friends once they realized what was happening. Ciel's whole body grew hot. His legs threatened to collapse.

His father stood from his seat and stepped over to his son. Ciel realized that he really had gotten taller, just like Gold said. He could meet his father's gaze on a flat plane for the first time in his life and it summoned confidence in the same capacity as guilt. He shouldn't be standing equal to someone who had tried so much harder than him, who actively wanted to be a better person while Ciel drowned in his mistakes. He was still that ten-year-old who cried in a malevolent shadow, and who couldn't understand how much had changed in seven years.

"That jacket looks good on you." The man shifted balance onto his other leg, then back again, then straightened his stance for good measure.

"Dad," Ciel said, voice unsteady. "You wanted me to give you the greatest battle I could. So, I will."

He was taken aback and paused a few moments. "Right now? You haven't even had time to rest. Don't you want to wait a few days?"

"Do you?" he asked.

He wished he knew the parallel thoughts that gripped the man in front of him. His father smiled and said, "No, we've both waited long enough."

Beyond the man's shoulders, Gold threw up a quiet thumb and spoke loud with his attitude. Crystal raised a single finger to him and mouthed "you". His mother gave a firm nod. Daku held up his arm, elbow bent crooked up his chest, ending with a waiting open hand. Ciel clasped the hand with his own and they closed their fingers tight.

* * *

The referee explained the rules. The grumbling elder's eyes were half lidded and he almost nodded off on his feet. "The challenger will use two Pokémon simultaneously with another two in reserve. Each Gym Leader will present two of their own, one reserve for each. As per standard League Rules, Gym Leaders are disallowed from substituting Pokémon. Trainers, send out your leading Pokémon."

A double battle. Ciel knew that doubles was an uncommon format for professional competition, though some top battle scholars of the International Pokémon League considered it fairer and safer for both Trainers and Pokémon. Still, it paled in cultural relevance to the single battle, and as such Ciel was undoubtedly out of his element. Not to mention how cold it was. The frigid Mahogany Gym made it difficult to focus. A mist wrapped around his legs and cut off feeling below his knees, and the forming icicles around the ceiling audibly dripped and made him wince every time a droplet popped against the iced floor

His mother suggested to sit out—they could hold single matches at their discretion—but even if he and his father shouldered the battle's purpose, Ciel refused to handicap himself. He couldn't be afraid to push himself to his limit. But his Pokémon were top priority. He'd never forget that again.

Ciel held out two of his Poké Balls. Their red caps popped open and the materialization beams arced out to the floor. Raven and Arden appeared in a red flash. The neon red penetrated the ice and caused the floor shine all around him. His mother unleashed a Pokémon called Keokeo, a foreign-born Ice-Type closely related to Vulpix. His father's own foreign creature, Inkay, materialized from its capsule floating upside-down.

He'd regionalized his front row in advance. Though his parents would expect him to front his Quilava to gain as much of a lead as possible, he hadn't recalled ever mentioning his Scyther. Mantis had an overwhelming advantage against Inkay, dual-typed Psychic and Dark, so he'd present Arden as his Type advantage to fake them out. Plus, he needed utmost synergy to get him off the ground.

"Are all combatants ready?" prompted the referee. Both sides gave their consent, he got his flags in order, and the green was cast.

A cloud condensed overhead, and combined with the mist below, the visible area of the battlefield narrowed. Small chunks of ice plummeted from the cloud and smashed onto the ice. They grew larger, and larger, and larger with each passing moment until they roughly matched a storage-state Poké Ball. When he noticed the almost imperceptible mist rising off his mother's Keokeo, he understood that the creature's ability could cause a hailstorm.

"Honey, cover me," she said.

"Right!" His father's Inkay hovered in front of its companion. He ordered "Morgana, use Psybeam!"

The psionic pulse streaked across the ice towards Arden. Raven was already moving when he cast his command for her to block it. She dug her claws into the ice and took the Psybeam head on. An invisible force made her recoil, but she held tight and stood tall with no injury.

It was after the interception that Ciel realized he'd fallen right into their trap. On the other side of the battlefield, Inkay and Keokeo wore shimmering auras and faded into the deepening hailstorm. He'd seen his mother use this move before, Aurora Veil, and the obvious distraction allowed her to set it up. The glowing shield provided unbreakable protection from any attacks, meaning he could only apply pressure until it disappeared.

"Raven, charge forward and use Slash on Inkay!" Ciel shouted. She catapulted forward but she gained no momentum as her feet slid from front to back. She had no traction on the ice, and each attempt to adjust her balance overcorrected and slid the opposite direction.

"Repeat Psybeam!" ordered his father. It targeted the same place. This time, Raven couldn't have moved to block even if he wanted as she scrambled on the ice.

Ciel shouted in desperation, "Dodge it, Arden!"

The force slammed into him head on and launched him across the icy floor. His reaction was delayed by the bombardment of hail, and when he skidded to a stop at the edge of the battlefield, he already was swaying on his feet. The Psybeam messed with his head.

He scrambled for a plan. His eyes shifted rapidly between his own two combatants. Keokeo began to synthesize floating daggers of ice in response to his mother's Ice Shard command. Inkay didn't look like an all-out offensive Pokémon, but it was taking that role. Meanwhile, Keokeo stood near the edge of the battlefield to provide support. He needed to take it out first or else it would set up another barrier.

What advantage did he have? Raven couldn't move well on the ice, and remembering his battle with Chuck, Mantis couldn't either. They weren't built for traction. In a few moments, he decided.

"Arden, I need you up front," Ciel said. His mother's Ice Shard was almost ready. He needed to move fast.

Striding forward, the heat from his Quilava's footsteps pooled water in a trail behind him. Steam rose each time his paw met the ground. He began to pick up speed. Ciel smiled, knowing that his Pokémon understood his plan without so much as a word.

However, he stopped. A sudden movement by Raven placed her in Arden's path. She waited. The Pokémon turned her head back to him, just enough to reveal her right eye focused directly on him. Under the intense pressure of her judgement, he faltered in giving Arden's command, and they were bombarded by hundreds of daggers of ice when Keokeo launched the attack. Raven presented her body like a shield yet again and was peppered bloody.

Her attention never strayed from her Trainer. Her trust in him had been all but destroyed by what happened in Olivine all those months ago, and she didn't seem to soften no matter how much they trained together and how much he tried to make it up to her. She'd fiercely protect Arden from everyone, even him.

Ciel never meant to endanger him. He never wanted any of it to turn out this way! His purpose was to protect his Pokémon so they could grow stronger together and he hated himself for throwing that all away because of his own damn ego. He wished he could go back and tell Raven she was right and prevent any of this from happening.

The battlefield was eerily quiet. When he looked up, neither of his parents were in stance to command, and he witnessed his mother signal the referee to raise a yellow flag. The sudden change in atmosphere almost made him collapse as his adrenaline from battle was already wearing off. Though, Gym Leaders had wide control over calling recesses, Ciel felt sick—they were babying him when he should have been fighting strong.

His father called his name across the field. "Ciel?"

He clenched his teeth. The man's caring voice only made his heartbeat painful. He looked down to Raven, who held her stance, then back to his father.

"I learned something a while ago, Ciel. You can't revert the past," he said while witnessing the Absol viciously defend her ward. He glanced to his wife before he continued with a smile. "But, if you choose to accept that you've changed, it says more about you than if you try to forget."

Ciel, not realizing he'd started to slouch, pulled himself back up to pose. "You went to therapy to try to change, didn't you?"

He nodded. "I stopped drinking, too. I can't forget the person I was and the mistakes I made, but I'm here now as who I want to be."

Was Ciel who he wanted to be? Had he finally gotten to the point where he could move faster than his mind and be confident that he could protect the people and Pokémon he cared about, just like he said to Brent the day they parted ways? No, he couldn't. He'd never be able to completely eliminate his doubts and he was still years of practice away from standing atop the world and announcing that it was under his watch. But he _was_ better than he was before. If his younger self were to look up at him, he'd see a Trainer to aspire to.

"I promise you, Raven. I want to protect him and let him grow stronger, just like you. That's why you're my partner," Ciel said. Her glare kept for a few seconds before her stance weakened, she stepped aside, and she angled her sickle towards their opponents. This let Arden ignite to full blast.

"Thank you," he said. She made no response to indicate that she heard, but she deepened her battle stance. He nodded to his father. The green was thrown again. He ordered, "Arden, Flame Wheel!"

Arden first curled his body tight while letting his flames burn high and bright. He kicked off with his back legs and launched forward across the ice, rotating faster and faster until he became a dangerous wheel of fire. The floor's ice coating liquified in a trail behind him as he launched at the opponent.

"Morgana, cover and use Psycho Cut!" said his father. His mother complemented, "Use another Ice Shard, Lago!"

Inkay floated above its ally to defend against the incoming wheel of fire. Its tentacles shined with Psychic energy and it whipped them forward to release consecutive sharp waves. Arden sped faster and faster towards the two Pokémon and the oncoming attack.

A materialization beam flew forward and dematerialized Arden. He disappeared without a trace and the attack never completed, but the ice trail melted behind him was all the mark he needed. The second Poké Ball he had ready built the body of Mantis in his place, and Ciel ordered, "Charge and use X-Scissor!"

Mantis launched as soon as his consciousness awoke from stasis. His powerful legs bounded him forward down the melted trail, his beating wings multiplied his speed. The Psycho Cut slammed into him head on and barely slowed him down, dissipating across his carapace. Inkay braced for the attack, but Ciel counted on his Pokémon to realize the true target.

Mantis threw his legs forward and slid underneath the floating Pokémon that stood in his way. The Scyther crossed his blades across his chest, sprinted forward, and struck Keokeo with all his might. The Pokémon positioned itself too close to the edge of the ring. It was thrown clear from the bounds of the battlefield. The referee flashed a yellow flag and declared that Keokeo was defeated by ringout. The hail began to lighten but Inkay was still protected by Aurora Veil.

His mother quickly dematerialized her active Pokémon and replaced it with one even more dangerous. Her partner, Froslass. The Pokémon's underbody was purple and humanoid, but what looked like a white robe draped over its limbs and torso. A ghastly chill permeated through the already-freezing air and Ciel pulled his jacket tighter.

"Onna, Frost Breath!" ordered his mother once the battle resumed.

The floating spirit waved one of her arms in a forward arc and sprayed a cloud towards them. It was too wide to dodge and it washed over them. Crystals flash-froze across Raven's fur and Mantis's wings. The former released an agonizing yelp. Ciel felt it pierce his skin when the dissipating cloud barely reached him and froze the perspiration on his right hand.

"Flamethrower!" His father gave a follow-up order. A stream of flame erupted from the motions of the Inkay's tentacles and broke through the lingering Frost Breath, instantly vaporizing it and overcoming the mist with a cloud of steam.

His Pokémon and the battlefield vanished. He couldn't even see where the attack was aiming. He shouted, "Dodge it, Mantis! Charge forward, Raven!"

Due to the temperature, the steam cloud dissipated quickly. Ciel's eyes went wide. Raven was the one sporting a burn on her right side, fur licking with flames. Mantis was already on the move after surveying the situation, taking advantage of the second path of melted ice connecting it and Inkay. It reared its left blade and brought down a lightning-fast Slash. Inkay spun through the air until it steadied itself and fired back a barrage of swipes from its tentacles that pushed the Scyther away across the ice.

Ciel ordered him to follow through with X-Scissor, regretting that Mantis himself probably didn't realize the Type advantage. Meanwhile, he retrieved his partner's Poké Ball. "Raven, you're hurt. Return!"

He fired her materialization beam and she disappeared. She was replaced a second later by Hector, who announced his presence on the battlefield with a screech. He could barely decide if he or Clovis was the better choice. His Rhyhorn couldn't use most of his attacks because both Inkay and Froslass could levitate, but once he announced his fourth Pokémon, it was locked in, and he might need Hector's unbreakable defense against the only opponent he had yet to see.

His mother's Froslass finally recovered from its initial attack. Given its damage output, he assumed Frost Breath was exhausting for the user and he could count on the Pokémon not repeating it for a while. As well, the glowing field protecting Inkay dimmed, and then dissipated. This was his chance.

"Hector, Mantis, go!" he ordered.

His parents mirrored the order and both parties clashed in the center of the battlefield. Ciel ordered his Scyther to go after Inkay with an X-Scissor, but the floating enemies easily swapped places to dodge and put them in a favorable position. Froslass discharged another icy mist that fused Mantis's wings to his back. He responded with a Slash that phased through the Ghost-type completely—he was caught off guard and rounded again with another X-Scissor, but not before a Shadow Ball slammed into his chest.

Hector, meanwhile, smashed a piece of ice underfoot, took it in his mouth, and flung it at Inkay. When the creature flipped over itself mid-air to dodge the projectile, Hector tore a plate from his armor and delivered a second hit that Inkay wasn't prepared to dodge.

Froslass outstretched an arm to catch its ally as it spiraled away. Ciel realized it had forced Mantis to a knee. Hector took a Shadow Ball to his side, courtesy of a now unoccupied Froslass, and then a Psybeam in quick succession. His physical defense couldn't spare him from the energy-based special attacks. He fell on his stomach, conscious but exhausted.

Ciel bit his tongue and failed to give his next order. He was being overwhelmed again. If he couldn't narrow the scope of battle, he couldn't survive.

"Hector, Bulldoze! Smash the battlefield!" Jasmine's battle ran through his mind. He threw out his arm to reinforce his command.

Hector struggled through the motions. His Pokémon, driven purely by his determination, reared up and slammed down into the ice. Cracks shot instantly across the entire floor and the entire sheet of ice was forced skyward in shards and pieces.

Ciel followed through immediately. His final battle with Chuck was the next image. "Beat your wings and use the shards, Mantis, then attack!"

The Bug-type dug a foot into the newly cleared ground and muscled his wings fast enough until Ciel could no longer see their beating. The intense airflow generated behind him covered the opposite team in a storm of ice. Inkay and Froslass were both buffeted by Ciel's own creative hail. Inkay could barely hold itself in the air after the barrage and the creature's rhythmic sways became erratic.

The Scyther didn't stop for a second. He rocketed forward and crossed his blades. They charged with Bug-type energy.

"Dodge, Morgana!" shouted his Dad, but it was too late. The crossed blades struck the vulnerable opponent hard and carved an x-shaped scar into its body. It bled. Inkay dropped to the floor, unable to battle. Before the referee could call the knockout, a continuous beam of ice lanced through one of its lower leg plates, and he too fell. He was unconscious.

Two yellow flags were raised by the referee. He shouted, "Double knockout! Combatants, send in your next Pokémon."

"You've got us down to two versus three, Ciel," said his mother. Her amusement was clear, and she stretched her arms and shoulders. How utterly relaxed the gesture was left him unnerved. The current disadvantage didn't slow her, or his father, down in the slightest.

"It's impressive how far you've come, Ciel." His father stared him down. "You and Raven barely landed a single hit on Pryce's Piloswine when we first arrived."

His instinct was to spit in the face of the compliment, as if there was some hidden insult behind it. But there wasn't. Was that what he thought on that day, as well? He nodded and released Raven back to the field while the man replaced Inkay with a far more dangerous Pokémon.

The creature faded from neon red to pure black. Only ash-gray, bone-like decorations and a few spots of red underbelly broke up the canine creature's dark hide. The Houndoom exhaled jets of smoke through its nose.

"Are you ready, partner?" he asked his returning party member.

She uttered a low growl of affirmation and readied herself for a fight despite her marred and blackened. He kept her Poké Ball tight in his right hand, just in case, when the battle picked up yet again.

"Houndoom, Flamethrower!" shouted his father.

"Raven, hit the deck!" he fired back. This time, he guessed correctly where the attack was aimed.

Another torrent of fire streaked over her. Fortunately, she dropped to the ground in time and rolled over to dodge, then she bounded forward. Hector charged at her rear in single file.

"Night Slash on Froslass! Drill Run on Houndoom!" Ciel ordered.

"Will-O-Wisp!" called his mother. Houndoom and his Trainer waited, stalwart unmoving.

A wave of Froslass's arm unleashed a purple, flickering flame that met his team in their advance. Raven kicked off her left legs and threw herself clear, but Hector had too much momentum to slow and dodge. It disappeared when it touched his hide, and though Ciel didn't see any effect, his Rhyhorn shifted uncomfortable as if itching and scratching. The ethereal move convinced him he was burning on his slow march forward.

Raven jumped high and tore her charged sickle through Froslass. The creature recoiled but recovered fast. His mom ordered her to use Ice Beam, and Raven's own burns, limiting her movement, led her to take the beam in a rear leg. Crawling up her leg and across the floor, the expanding ice tied her to the ground. She struggled to break free. However, her opponent didn't fare much better. After taking the super effective hit and expending more energy on the counterattack, Froslass slumped over. It couldn't take much more.

Hector and his father's Houndoom met head-on. The former drive his horn forward, but the latter twisted his head to catch the protrusion within one of his curled, wicked horns. The Houndoom cranked his head with all his might and tore Hector from the ground. In the half a second the heavy Pokémon was lifted airborne, his father shouted, "Inferno!"

The blaze overcame him at point blank. Intense heat turned Hector's plates into burning coals. The gushing fire never slowed as it discharged from Houndoom's maw, and it burned hotter and hotter and hotter until an eerie blue rose among the bending air. Ciel could barely make out what occurred, but the referee held out a yellow.

"The challenger's Rhyhorn is unable to battle! Cease fire immediately!" he called.

The clearing smoke revealed Hector, burning red and collapsed on his stomach before Houndoom. Blue flame licks littered the battlefield in place of the ice sheet, and Ciel could see it had spread far enough to scorch one of Raven's legs meters away. She yelped.

"Ref," Ciel said, eyes focused on the burns swirling across her hide, "I also want to declare my Absol knocked out."

His decision earned him a growl and a glare, but he felt confident when the referee confirmed with another yellow. Any more burns and she'd take some permanent scarring. One against two, and his advantage was gone.

The doors of the Gym's final chamber opened. In the lull between his switch, it rang clearly in Ciel's ears, and he turned heel on who entered. One, a man in a nice blue coat, tapped his cane on the floor to command attention.

"And here I thought the Gym was closed for today," said Pryce. He chuckled. "And what do I happen to stumble across but a fun family game night? Aren't you missing someone?"

Bushy red pigtails poked out behind him. Ciel's expressed curled upwards on his face and he was tackled into a hug. This time, he was prepared for it. His sister in his arms, he pivoted on one foot—then he hopped to another—on the slippery floor.

"Ciel! You didn't tell me when you were getting home, you jerk," she said once he settled her back on the floor.

"Calm down, I've only been home for about two hours. It was just home, then the Pokémon Center, then here. You haven't missed a bit and—wait, aren't you supposed to be in school?" He sputtered once he realized.

"Well, yeah. I'm _supposed_ to be," she said. She flicked her eyes to Pryce.

"I hope the school doesn't check parental consent forms for forgeries," he mused, before raising his voice to shout, "or else they'll be coming for you, Kori!"

"Uh-huh. We're in the middle of a battle here, Pryce. And we'll talk later, young lady." Her mother crossed her arms and tried to appear unsympathetic, but she was in no hurry to continue. The only one getting antsy was the referee struggling against nodding off on the sidelines.

Cheers from Crystal and Gold filled his ears after he had all but forgotten about them since the battle began. He had been so consumed with the battle that he'd tuned out their constant cheering and support. His sister took her place alongside his friends and let out her own battle cry, Pryce standing taciturn beside her.

Everyone here had supported him in some way, urging him forward whether they were aware or not. His father didn't realize how much this stupid, dumb, insane feud between them fueled his Gym Challenge. Laina probably didn't know what burning anger she inspired in him. Pryce definitely understood that his one simple act changed Ciel's life forever. They were all with him now.

"Finish your fight, Ciel!" Crystal's voice echoed louder than anyone else. He was going to finish his battle, because the one he thought he was waging had long since concluded. He didn't hate his father. And he wanted more than anything to show the man how far he'd come.

"Are all combatants ready to resume?" asked the referee.

"It's two on one," said his father. His mother added, "Think you can take us?"

When his final Poké Ball launched its beam to the field, materializing the quadrupedal figure of his Quilava to the field, Ciel said, " _We_ can take you."

Arden gained his bearing on the switch in. He had been recalled amidst a flame wheel and put forward his front paws to brake. Upon gaining his bearings, and realizing he'd been thrown through time, the rodent Pokémon ignited for battle. He and his trainer stared down their unlikely odds.

The final green flew.

Ciel took the first move. "Flamethrower, aim low!"

"Twelve, use Crunch!" his father ordered in return.

Arden released his flaming pillar and sprayed the ground to create a barrier of flame between the two parties. Air cycled around the battlefield and carried heat higher and higher. This trapped Froslass on the other side of the field as Houndoom leapt through the wall and brought down his fangs on where Arden used to be. He winced as he landed, and as small a detail as it was, it confirmed Ciel's suspicion. Houndoom didn't have Flash Fire.

"Tackle!" said Ciel. Arden twisted around from his dodge and shot forward, barreling his body weight into Houndoom's lunged snout.

The creature snapped back instantly with another Bite. It curled its teeth around Arden's right side. He powered his ignition and sent flames coursing through his attacker's mouth. it didn't stop the Houndoom from tossing him across the battlefield. He landed at Ciel's feet and stood decorated with teeth marks.

"Onna, Shadow Ball!" A round phantom projectile crossed the flame barrier and slammed into Arden's head.

"Arden, slide across the floor on your back." The command was met with slight hesitation. His confident stare reassured the Pokémon as he looked back, and he flung himself forward despite his injuries.

The Pokémon kicked his legs out from under himself, jammed his flame sacs, and skidded across the floor. His father sought to capitalize and ordered a Flamethrower.

"Max ignition, now!"

The Pokémon poured all his energy into his flame sacs in an explosive burst. The recoil sent him forward and upward, and the Quilava twirled in flight to avoid the oncoming flames and a Shadow Ball sent to intercept. He landed on Houndoom's head and used it as a steppingstone to jump even higher.

This was his chance. With both Pokémon caught off guard, he needed to even the odds. Ciel said, "Ember!"

The small spark was all he needed. It crossed the distance and engulfed Froslass. Like Inkay before it, it dropped low to the floor and ceded the fight, being recalled by his mother after the referee swung his flag. She bowed out—with a literal bow—and stood beside Pryce on the sidelines.

Ciel curled a fist before him to combat the shaking. Rapid temperature changes, exhaustion from commanding the battle, and the unbridled excitement he felt threatened to end the battle before his Pokémon could. Even with a bite wound and having exhausted most of his flame output, Arden stood stronger than his Trainer. He and Houndoom circled each other in a few moment of silent contemplation.

"Ciel." His father's call pacified his racing nerves. It was the most caring he'd ever heard in the man's voice, even more than when he spoke about Laina in his voicemails. "Whatever happens, this is it. This is our point to start over."

He agreed. More than anything, he was having some of the most fun of his life side-by-side with his partner Pokémon, and he was sure his father felt the same. They were fighting without any hidden animosity, without any unspoken problems, and without misused time. Ciel was fighting a true Pokémon battle.

"You said you needed to see I was ready to move on," the man said, then he paused. "Am I?"

"Are we?" he asked.

After a moment of hesitation, his father echoed, "We are."

A shining white engulfed the Gym's interior and Ciel gasped. He focused his vision on the ball of pure energy that engulfed the Gym. Ciel shielded his eyes from the all-consuming light. Somewhere within the glow, Arden's growling shout could be heard shifting pitch and transforming into something entirely new.

Ciel was ready to accept his loss. Once Arden's evolution was complete, he'd be completely spent of energy and wouldn't be able to continue. He'd be defeated by Houndoom. It didn't matter. He felt happier than he'd ever been.

The white slowly condensed on the new shape. It stood upright with a bulkier body, more powerful legs, and a longer neck. But it was unmistakably the same agile Pokémon as before. Arden had transformed.

Before the light even faded, Ciel signaled to the referee, who understood. When he raised his colors to end the battle, however, he was cut off by the penetrating growl from inside the light. Arden repeated it, making it clear it was aimed for his Trainer.

Ciel stood in shock. He wouldn't have the strength to even lif himself off the ground, and he expected to fight Houndoom to the end? The glowing mass turned back towards his opponent and let out an even louder call—a roar unlike anything he was capable of before.

He had no idea how long it was until Arden was spent completely, or what reserve of power made him this confident to continue. They had half a minute, maybe, but he'd make it count. Arden wanted to fight. He did too. With a quick sign to the referee, he gave his next order. "Flamethrower!"

Arden's released a shining white flame. It lashed across the arena at lightning speed, his firepower maximized.

His father's Houndoom couldn't avoid the attack and was consumed. Even resisting Fire-type attacks, it was struggling to withstand the onslaught.

"Fire Blast!" shouted his father.

Deep from its maw, Houndoom expelled a massive power of his own. Even more wild than his standard flame attacks, a burning crest shot forward. It suppressed the oncoming flames like a shield and forced Arden to drop his assault as it surged forward. He jumped out of the way. The wall behind him burst in flames when the Fire Blast crashed into it.

"Get in close, Arden. We don't have much time. Let's make this our last attack!" Ciel ordered. His brilliant Pokémon was already on the move before he spoke. Houndoom lunged forward to meet their assault.

The two powers clashed at the arena's center. Ciel decided to take a page from his father's rulebook as they got in close. An attack that burst with a Pokémon's full firepower. Even though they'd never used it before, Ciel trusted Arden to know what to do. His father matched his intention.

They shouted in unison. " _Inferno!_ "

The battlefield exploded. The wind and smoke that barreled past him swept Ciel off his feet. He managed to steady himself before he landed on his face. He kept his gaze locked on the glimmering beacon within the black cloud.

He waited, and waited, and waited for the smoke to settle. When the combatants finally emerged, both were spent, hunched, and panting, As the smoke cleared further, his family and friends came into view, and all of them were silent. The referee clutched a blue flag at his side.

Arden swayed on his feet. He was still consumed by the light and had yet to fade back into color. Houndoom fared little better and even announced his defiance with a smokey exhale. Ciel held in a breath.

Houndoom dropped to the ground, motionless. In that instant, Arden's light snapped out to show his true colors, and the newly evolved Typhlosion once again announced himself with a roar. A blue flag signaled Ciel's victory.

* * *

"Hey, get those Clauncher off the burner!" shouted Daku.

"Uhh, right," Ciel said. He took the sizzling pan in hand and slid around the cooked shellfish with the force of his arm motion. They had been battered and fried, and now it was his job to add flourish as they cooled.

His father spoke up again, bashing two metal items together. He was fully decorated in a chef's apron and wore it proud. "Add the rice and sauces to the dashi base, quickly! We haven't got all day, people. Mix it, mix it!"

Gold, in charge of the soup, nearly spilled all the ingredients across the kitchen floor. It was crowded with so many people running around, including Crystal preparing five different tea blends and countless unique bowls of food for each Pokémon.

"There a way I can help, perhaps?" asked his mother with a dry tone. She hovered at the outside edge of the kitchen, marked by two types of floor tiles.

"You're forbidden from coming anywhere near this food," said Ciel's father. "That's an order."

"Whatever. Didn't want to touch your stupid kitchen alchemy anyway," she said before wandering off into the family room. Laina brushed past her with the news that said family room was in ship shape for a full-size dinner-for-twenty-one.

"Laina, how is Arden doing in there?" Ciel asked over his shoulder.

"He keeps falling asleep and then waking himself up when he smells food," his sister reported.

"Make sure you aren't wasting any of those Nomels, Lyra. He's gonna need them." Ciel smiled to himself and returned to dressing his potion of the meal.

A timer rung. Daku said, "That's a wrap. Dish everything out and let's move it!"

Add rice soup. Small beef cuts. Tempura shellfish. Radishes and beans. He repeated these self-instructions over in his head as he, Crystal, and Ethan dished out everyone's bowls from on the stove. They hurried into the other room with countless full dishes, drinks, and other necessary items balanced precariously among them. Together, they managed to decorate the table for a hearty dinner.

Around the edges of the family room, sixteen different Pokémon sat—or floated—patiently in wait for the meal. Ciel was glad they'd gotten full baths at the Pokémon Center, because he didn't want to imagine the musk. Once Laina distributed each Pokémon's species-tailored bowl, the five of them knelt at the room's center table.

"Thank you for the meal," they said together, before digging in. Ciel's taste buds melted. He forgot what true home cooking tasted like, and then he wondered how heaven could slip someone's mind. Tangy, but with an overlying salty goodness. Undertones of poultry, and garlic, and ginger, and soy, and even some spice. He was shoving his face rather rudely with everything on his place at once.

"I formally dedicate this meal the foremost pain in my ass," said his mother.

Normally, he'd be embarrassed, but with the Glacier Badge tucked in his pocket, he was soaring. Crystal, Gold, and his father all put down their utensils to clap. Gold's Togepi had climbed onto his lap with its own foot bowl and joined in.

"Thanks, everyone," he said. "Only one more badge until my Gym Challenge is complete."

"Thanks for having us over for dinner, Mr. and Mrs. Fauder. Now I've had a sit-down meal with Ciel's parents on both sides of the Region," said Gold. He was speaking with his mouth full. Crystal shot him a glare and dragged a chopstick in front of her throat in an exaggerated gesture. His parents looked between themselves and Ciel motion frantically to drop the subject.

His father said, "Glad you got here before the new year, Ciel. We get to spend the holidays together. I guess I got a little ahead of myself with the big end-of-the-year meal."

"I'll just have to help you put together another one," he said. He had already scarfed down half his sitting and was excited to see Arden on the opposite side of the room cleaning his bowl of pure nutrients. He dragged his tongue all over the bowl so as not to miss a single drop.

Once the meal was done, they all pitched in to clean up. Laina volunteered to inter all their Pokémon at the Center for the night and he wished his team a good rest, all of them. He witnessed Raven and Arden chatter back and forth down the front path, including some annoyed growls from his partner at her loss of vertical superiority. He couldn't contain his smile.

Those left in the house prepared sleeping arrangements for everyone. There were only three bedrooms, so Crystal and Gold decided to hole up together in the family room with the sleeping bags they brought. His mother tried to argue until she realized they didn't have easy alternatives.

They turned in early. When Ciel excused himself to his room for the night, he switched on the light to find Laina lounging on his bed. It was as pristine as he left it.

"Everyone at the Center okay?" he asked.

"Yup! They said they'd put your Typhlosion under special care to help him recover faster, too," she said.

"Thanks for freezing your butt off to get that done." He said. His entire team could use a good night's—or maybe a week's—rest. "But, why are you in my room? Don't you have school tomorrow?"

"So? I want to hear about your adventures."

"Mom and dad would get really mad if they found you staying up. More than they already are for you skipping," he shot back.

She puffed her face. Her eyes glossed over with a cunning sorcery. His self-control slipped at the sight of the pouting face. He shook his head and sat down next to her on the edge of his bed. "Alright, alright, alright, what do you want to hear about?"

She giggled. "Tell me everything."

* * *

 **The showdown. I was excited to finally get to this chapter, and the final result is… massive. It pushed me over the 200,000 word benchmark, that's for sure.**

 **As you can see, my schedule delays usually aren't the result of me missing my 5,000 words per chapter standard. I almost always hit that within a two-week timeframe. The problem is when chapter contents go way beyond, and you get monsters like this. It's just more I need to rag on in my end-of-story postmortem.**

 **Between this chapter and the last, I beat Pokémon Shield. As you can probably tell, I've been on the positive side of the games throughout its release. After playing them, I'm glad to say that I enjoyed them immensely, but like every Pokémon game, it has certain flaws (and unique ones that barely existed in games prior). I found myself really getting into the spectacle of Dynamaxing despite being a skeptic and it's hard to overstate how much energy it brings. The renewed focus on Gyms and worldbuilding about the Pokémon League makes the story pop in some places, but its delivery elsewhere can be lacking. I think the lack of voice acting and cutscenes hurts it, as a lot of important events happen offscreen and the player is only shown characters' reactions to them. People complained about constant cutscenes and dialogue in previous games, and I guess this game tried to limit how much it took the player away from the core gameplay loop, but it was a mixed bag. Still, it was a fun experience overall that I'd rank about in the middle compared to the other generations.**

 **Otherwise, I've been reading the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga and marathoning the Resident Evil series (one game series I missed out on for years). I'm into the final seven volumes of the former and I've beaten the first two games of the latter.**

 **From here, we move onto the final five chapters. They're grouped together as an "arc" in my outline, but that may be flexible given how the story has been structured so far. Either way, it's not long before this journey comes to a close.**

 **The debut of Chapter 31: Storming the Castle is January 17th at the earliest. Happy New Year, and I'll see you soon.**


	31. Storming the Castle

**This story is co-developed and edited by Titan127.**

 **Disclaimer: Pokémon is a registered property of Nintendo, the Pokémon Company, and GameFreak. This work respectfully uses the world and characters of the Pokémon series, with no intent of harm on the original creators. Please support the official releases of the Pokémon franchise.**

 **Chapter 31: Storming the Castle (8,061 words)**

* * *

He couldn't slow down. If he slowed down, he'd stop moving. If he stopped moving, he'd be found. And if he was found...

One of Proton's footfalls caught on a root, or a rock, or some dirt, or whatever the fuck it was. He was decorated with rugburn when he finally came to a stop. Dirt coated his body and clothes. It clogged his throat and his lungs. However, he couldn't feel anything. Because his brain was teetering on the edge, the only thing that clued him into the pain coursing through him was the blood pooling from rashes on his skin.

Deafened sirens bounced off the atmosphere to reach him. There was a sea of forest between them and Proton could only pray that was enough. He grasped at the freezing dirt to drag himself forward. The headset was right there, a meter away, one of its earpieces broken. A weak hand grasped for it, finding dirt, and grass, and stone, and moss, until he clenched his fist around it. Bringing it to his ear, there was static.

He was crying. Why the fuck was he crying? Proton slammed his own fist into his skull to beat it out. Hit after hit after hit made feeling evaporate from his skin all over. The sirens muted further.

"P-petrel, a-a-answer me. What is—" He interrupted himself to spit up soil from his throat. He almost emptied his stomach. "Petrel, do y-you copy?"

The earpiece gave no answer. His tears hadn't stopped.

"Petrel!" he screamed. "Geist! Major! Muscles! Anyone?"

Silence. His screams fell to whimpers as he listed every codename he could remember. Each name returned the same answer.

"Squeak… please answer me. D-did you get out? Are you there?"

When nothing returned to him the final time, he tossed the headset away and laid down on the ground. Why did he get to be the only one who escaped the League? He just sat back in his cozy hideout while everyone else put themselves on the line, yet only he crawled away from the Indigo Plateau. And the rest of the Syndicate would be next. Just as he predicted, they woke the Dragon. The Pokémon League was coming.

Proton had no will to get up. The world fading, he drifted in and out of consciousness for minutes, hours. He had no dreams, only vague whispers of his own monologue and the sounds of the forest creeping in his ears and the swirling of fluid in his head.

When he awoke, a vague warmth was overcoming the dark sky. Proton ignored the combination of pain, numbness, apathy, guilt, and dread pushing against him from all sides like a metal press and slogged forward towards the orange through the trees.

Escape. That's what Petrel said. If the entire Rocket Syndicate was going to go down in flames, that's all he could do. A true Rocket would leave it all behind and throw everyone to die if it meant he could live on. He shambled through the forest towards an unknown destination, the sirens long since silent behind him.

* * *

Ciel cracker the porch door and let a frigid wind blow inside. At the turn of the new year, they were graced with a wonderland. A volume of white stretched out endlessly across the horizon. It hung precariously on the roof of the other buildings in the village and he couldn't even see footprints or trails cutting through the snowfall.

With the addition of a layer of mist, it was picturesque, like a greeting card given life. He drunk in the crisp air that purified his lungs and his soul.

"Stop letting the cold in!" shouted his mother a few rooms away. "Don't turn into Pryce!"

"Okay!" He zipped up his jacket and stepped outside into the frozen world, pulling hard to deal the door against the wind. Ciel stepped up to the table on the porch, pulled out a chair, dusted a sheet of snow off the seat, and then lived with the disappointing wetness under his pants. A shiver rocked his entire spine.

"I don't think you thought that through. Snow is still wet," said Crystal, who was huddled up in a jacket of her own across the table. A folded towel was placed next to her.

"I didn't get a lot of this where I'm from, alright?" He crossed his arms to conserve his warmth and let out a crystallized breath. "Why are you out here, instead of enjoying the cornerstone of civilization?"

"Written language? Integration of Pokémon into everyday life?" she asked.

"I was thinking central heating."

She slipped her hands inside her jacket pockets and held tight to herself. She cast a blank stare into the silent village. "Well, we've already got the three of us out here. It can't be that bad."

He'd noticed her slip through the door in the short time he had it open. If it weren't for the lingering burnt hairs, he probably wouldn't be able to discern her frost-white body from the blanket of snow she curled up in. She stayed in place, not moving, not communicating, not anything.

He spared a few glances back at his partner Pokémon, almost expecting her to stalk forward and attack him when his back was turned. She never did.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but she's been following me everywhere for the past few days and just… staring. She still hates me for what happened to Arden," Ciel explained with a hint of disappointment. An idea struck him, and he tossed her Poké Ball across the porch to land softly in the snow next to her head. She broke her focus for a moment to tap it with the tip of her sickle.

"Are you sure she's being antagonistic? It could just be curiosity," said Crystal.

He shook his head, dejected. His cheeks were starting to burn between the cold surrounding him and his blood rushing to keep him warm. "I don't know. When Gold brought her to Mahogany, she started watching me like she was judging my every move. After our battle with my parents, I thought I'd finally done something right, but now she's shadowing me even more."

"Maybe she just needs one little push. It's just like you, right? You were well and ready to make up with your father, and facing him head on was all it took," she said.

"Yeah," he said. "Just like me."

"Don't sound so down in the dumps about it. There's no time limit on making it happen, especially since she's obviously willing to stick around and give you a chance." Crystal grinned ear to ear, her nose and ears a bright cherry. She leaned back in her chair and stretched her arms over her head. This accidentally knocked her hat into the snow.

"Hey Crystal?" he asked.

"Yeah?"

"You're a good person," Ciel said. The words dropped off his tongue before he realized. He rolled it back over in his mouth out of curiosity and liked what he heard.

"O-oh. Well, thank you." As she picked up her hat and dusted it off, she tilted her head away from him.

"Do you not get that very much?"

She was silent for a few moments. Her blank gaze tried to dig through the mist beyond the porch. Twirling her hat between her index fingers, she said, "I just try my best. That's good enough for me."

"Why exactly did you decide to go on the Gym Challenge? You never really said," he said.

"Gold wanted to see the Region. I tagged along. I think it puts me in a better position to help out when I can, hiking all around and seeing what problems I can chase."

"Right. It was never about you." Ciel didn't aim it directly at her. Rather, he drew it from himself, and from everything he drilled into his mind for the past few months. He, and Crystal, and Brent, they were all doing things for other people. It was their purpose, their identity, and their happiness. When he imagined the faces surrounding him in their snow-coated cottage in the mountains, he was surer than ever that it was the right dream to follow, knowing that others' dreams would net any chasms he stepped over.

She hummed in agreement and put her hat back on. There was no sunlight to block out. She crossed her legs—she was wearing thermals underneath her knee-length overalls—and shifted in her seat as if anxious for something. Of course, it was part of the reason they were in Mahogany.

A shadow appeared through the mist. Crystal shot to her feet and rushed to the edge of the porch to meet the approaching figure. He said he'd find them, and that's what they were waiting for.

However, both Crystal and Ciel were stunned the approaching presence. She backed away, slowly, and he found himself unable to muster the strength to stand from his chair. The silhouette was powerful. With each step, an invisible force shook the earth beneath him, and the cloak draped around him rippled. When he placed his boot onto the first step, Ciel's heart jolted.

"Excuse me. I'd like to speak with the Gym Leaders." Calm diplomacy blocked a hidden rage from leaving his breath. Lance Masuta graced them with their presence, and with it, his mission.

* * *

"The Rockets are here," said Lance. Ciel, his parents, Crystal, and Gold had trouble keeping up with the man's steadfast gait.

"Why are my parents going with you?" Ciel asked. He caught a glimpse of Raven trailing the group ten paces behind. All his team was in stasis except her. She wouldn't walk any closer but never fell far behind.

"Gym Leaders are considered reserve militia and can be called for temporary service to fulfill the League's purposes. All our employed Trainers are," Lance explained. He parted the mist with his stride alone, and by the time they reached the center of town, it was clear.

They were followed by a small squad of badged police officers. Two of them wore faded uniforms with the Glacier Badge's emblem hanging on their chests. The others looked like they'd stepped out of the academy just yesterday. Their facial features weren't local.

Crystal motioned to him and Gold. She pulled them into a huddle as they walked towards their as-of-yet unknown destination.

"So, where's our, you know…" Gold hunched over and pretended to throw a bag over his shoulder. Or at least, that's what Ciel assumed he was doing.

Crystal shook her head. "It's not exactly a large town and I've looked everywhere. But he was right about the Rockets, and he wouldn't abandon this."

"And why are we whispering?" asked Gold, in a raspy tone far above a whisper.

"Because he's still a wanted criminal. I wasn't expecting the freaking _Champion of Indigo_ to show up."

"What if he's already inside on an action movie rampage, throwing out one-liners and knocking out crooks?" Gold asked while making karate chop gestures—Ciel noted the unbalanced form to himself—and sound effects. "I mean, he knew they were here way before the police did. I think they need to step up their game."

"I..." she paused. "It's possible. But I hope he's not stupid enough to try it alone."

Ciel's mother had been bickering with the champion the entire walk. Her shouting increased in ire until she broadcast across their group.

"You want us to take down the Rocket Syndicate, which somehow happens to be in this very town _,_ with only ten people, including my _son_?" she mother. Fury built behind her that made the police officers steer clear.

"Please. These three were at the Showdown. They already have more professional training than half the criminal underworld." He made a motion towards them, which made Ciel shrink in on himself.

"Couldn't the Indigo League afford you more International Police agents?" Ciel's father wasn't much happier, though he kept it hidden. His mouth pursed and he clamped a Poké Ball in his hand. Still, he followed close behind the Champion of the Indigo Plateau, beholden to the call of duty.

Lance shot him an indignant stare. "The rest are setting up to secure the town's premises, and your town having _two officers_ doesn't help. I have to make up the deficit."

"Just because you expect your kids to be some Trainer prodigies with no lives outside the ones you set them up for doesn't mean mine should have to put theirs on the line," Kori said. She roughly pulled Lance aside, stopping their march, and bored into him. "If you're calling my husband and I up for defense purposes, fine, but they aren't going."

"They are, and I have the Viceroy's authority to make them. The Rockets already knew we were coming over a week ago and I don't want to waste any more time," Lance said.

The argument spiraled further downward as Ciel's mother grew increasingly agitated, while Lance was steadfast in his decision to bring them along. The officers got involved. The ones in the shiny uniforms planted themselves in front of Lance in intimidating guard stances.

Ciel stepped forward. "We're going."

The argument ceased. His mother sputtered. She muttered and grumbled and rambled to herself, trying to make sense of what she just heard, before she settled on saying, "No. I forbid you."

"You're here because someone you love was hurt, sir," he said to the Champion, ignoring her. The Champion's expression softened. Ciel's thoughts wandered to the first time he spoke to Cynthia in Goldenrod, and how small he felt in comparison. Crystal and Gold formed up at his sides, and a distant Raven behind. He suspected that they were granting him this unknown bout of confidence. "I'm here because a Rocket told me they'd do the same to me and my family. You were there, Mom. I'm not going to let that happen."

"You—but, you can't—" The woman lost her words further.

Ciel's father put a hand on his wife's shoulder and said everything he needed without a word. She took his other hand into hers and squeezed, and after letting out a sigh, she said, "Okay."

"Us too," said Crystal, Gold's juvenile grin backing her up. "We're here to help our friends."

"Then it's settled!" Lance announced. "We've got ourselves a little squad of heroes. "I'll even make a deal. In exchange for helping me, I'll pull some strings with the League to get each of you any one thing you want."

A reward was the furthest thing from Ciel's mind. Their destination was only a few paces away. Close to the center of town was a run-down shack. Tacky signs decorated every plane of its exterior, overlapping the boarded and missing windows. One was notably larger than the others but looked just as cheap.

"Rage Candy Bars?" asked Crystal.

"Our communications team tracked a signal used by the Rockets to this little place. Its equipment receives from the Goldenrod Radio Tower and rebroadcasts through the mountains. But, since there's so little overall traffic, the Rocket signal went unnoticed for a long time," Lance said.

He let them inside the building's open doorway, and their group of ten populated the small interior. It was dusty, moldy, and made Ciel's nose scrunch. Hundreds of trinkets littered the shelves around the store. Some hadn't been touched in ages.

The dull-looking man stepped through the string curtain and regarded them with bulging eyes. The smell only worsened when he appeared. His forehead sweat profusely when he realized the nature of his guests. One of his arms twitched.

"You. Shopkeep." Lance sauntered up to the counter. "We've got a search warrant from the Indigo Plateau to inspect your business."

"Don't go to da back," he said in a drawl.

"The back?" Lance raised an eyebrow. "Is there something back there I shouldn't know about?"

One of the police officers shot forward when the man's twitching arm disappeared behind his back and brandished a Poké Ball. He tackled the man over the counter and crashed into the back wall. Junk lining the walls dropped and shattered, and even more teetered precariously over the edge. The officer twisted the shopkeeper's arm behind his back and squeezed until he dropped the capsule. It rolled along the floor to a disinterested Lance, who smashed it underfoot.

The Champion pushed through the curtain and touched around the cramped backroom. He shifted along the walls, pushing, pulling, twisting, trying to find something, until his attention settled on a decorative cabinet. Ciel stepped through the curtain himself, over the struggling shopkeeper being restrained on the floor, and saw the man effortlessly shift the dresser aside. He only used a single arm, yet it slid across the ground like it was a fraction of its actual weight.

Underneath, a small trapdoor was reveleaed. The ten of them gathered in the backroom—the shopkeeper was safely handcuffed and out-of-commission—and Lance addressed them all. "With any luck, this door leads right to the Rocket main hideout. A few more agents of mine should be setting up behind us to prevent their escape through here. Prepare yourselves for a fight."

The Champion pried open the trapdoor and revealed a metal staircase underneath, light filtering from somewhere inside the descending tunnel. He led the group down. Ciel felt claustrophobic, his head only a few centimeters from the ceiling. No one seemed like striking up conversation, so the shuffling footfalls of their march were all Ciel heard as they descended further, and further, and further. Natural light gave way to a disorienting, artificial glow.

They spilled out into nondescript hallways. The undetailed walls only had light panels running their perimeter and the occasional vent duct or decorative painting to break up the endless white paneling that seemed to fade into haze ten meters in each of the three directions available. No one was there, but a voice booked over the loudspeaker, announcing that intruders have entered the base and ordering Rockets to stop them at all costs. Hadn't they only just gotten inside? Had the shopkeeper somehow alerted them? Lance surveyed environment for a few seconds before addressing them again.

"Each of you will stay with a small group and keep only one Pokémon active for your own safety. You in the baseball cap, come with me," he said. A fanboyish glee escaped Gold's mouth and he adjusted said cap to look his best. The squire stood in the shadow of the knight's cloak "Daku, take your son and two officers. Same to Kori and the girl in the overalls. We're here to apprehend as many Rockets as we can, and more importantly, find and take their leader into custody."

Ciel and his father shared taciturn agreement. While everyone else selected a Poké Ball, Ciel's own chosen Pokémon was already active, having followed them down the passage. He looked to her. She turned away. After wishing each other luck, the three groups split off to search the complex.

Ciel joined his father and their officers, Hidari and Tadashi, as they jogged down the monotonous halls of the complex. Ciel pace swayed due to the light, the dizzying atmosphere, and the stale air. He had to pinch himself while he ran just to ensure he wasn't dreaming.

"Hey, uhh, Dad? If this is really a hideout for Rockets, where is everyone?" he asked with shaking breaths.

"Just keep your guard up. This place doesn't sit well with me." The man's Houndoom bounded alongside them as they raced down the seemingly endless hall. The vague haze as the space receded brought his memory of the Ruins of Alph to the forefront. Their assigned officers didn't seem to notice—they were International Police agents and carried themselves like they were on top of the world. Ciel figured they were, to some degree.

The further they got from the entrance, the sicker to his stomach it made him. The shadow he danced with in Goldenrod and in Olivine made him fear what the Rockets were capable of. With each step they traveled, they delved deeper into enemy territory and strayed further from the safe light of the surface.

Then, from the darkness, they struck.

The quilled body of a Sandlash lanched forward and aimed to tear straight through him with an extended claw. It flashed under the artificial light. Ciel gave a hasty order. "Slash!"

Raven sprinted forward, swung her head and sickle upward, and met the claw directly. The angle of impact caused the oncoming creature to ricochet past him. The clash of blades sparked hot.

"Use Crunch, Twelve!" shouted his father. Without missing a beat, his Houndoom clamped its jaws around the enemy's arm. It shouted in pain as the teeth sunk in and drew blood. The attacker was swung around by the limb and slammed into a nearby wall, destroying a panel light and leaving it incapacitated.

Four figures approached in wake of their ambush, all adorned with black jackets sporting the Rocket's letter emblem. Underneath their caps, Ciel could barely tell them apart—he assumed that meant they were low-ranking muscle. But, grunts or not, they all had Poké Balls and we're ready to kill them.

The police officers levied electroshock weapons. Ciel noticed that they didn't have Poké Balls on their belts, meaning they weren't Trainers themselves. Without them, it was either four to two, or three to two if that Sandlash was one's only Pokémon.

"Anybody ever told you fucks to knock?" said a commanding grunt he guessed was this little squad's leader. The loudspeaker still broadcast over his words.

"You are under arrest on suspect of Pokémon poaching, attempted theft of League property, and criminal distribution of contraband." The statement was issued by Tadashi, while his partner remained silent. It was by the book, high-and-tight, and stone faced, but Ciel detected a shake in his words.

"Yeah, yeah, we get it. I knew we was gonna have to deal with some League boys, but if this is all you got, well…"

Three of the Trainers released Pokémon and one recalled the downed Ground-type. Two fully materialized faster than the third and charged forward; Ciel and his father ordered forward to counter.

Neon red melted off Venomoth and Magmar. The first, a lavender, flying insect with a pale abdomen, beat its wings and dusted the area with a sparkling powder. The second stood bipedal, wore a coat of red and orange, and was adorned with flames around its head and tail. It curled one foreclaw into a fist and powered up its strike with summoned fire. The volcanic punch didn't aim for their Pokémon. It aimed for Officer Hidari.

"Cover your ears!" his father shouted. "Twelve, Roar!"

Hidari fired his stun gun. One of the darts managed to spear Magmar through its shoulder, but the conductive power coursing through wasn't enough to stop it. Ciel held out his capsule and temporarily recalled Raven. He held his ears tight with his hands. A deafening shriek burst from the mouth of his father Pokémon that was powerful enough to make visible reverberations down the hall and cancel Magmar's attack entirely. The Pokémon fell to the ground, stunned and convulsing, its fires wavering.

Ciel stood up tall and hovered next to his father. Their enemies and allies alike, including a still-materializing Golem, were all disoriented from the massive acoustic burst. He asked, exasperated, "Why didn't you use that on _us_?"

"Because it's obnoxious. My own ears are ringing," Daku said.

The more he looked at the Magmar on the floor, the more Ciel realized that he was convulsing himself. He gasped. His arms were covered in that sparkling powder. What hadn't been blown away by Houndoom's roar had settled all around them. Houndoom's muscles spasmed, paralyzed by what could only be Stun Spore.

Quickly, he pressed the button on Raven's capsule again and released her to the field. By recalling her he'd avoided attacks from both sides.

"Flamethrower!" shouted his father.

"Raven, use Slash in the follow-through!" Ciel ordered.

Houndoom managed to summon it power and launch a pillar of flames. However, the paralysis prevented it from moving and it was too far back to guarantee a hit. The flames flew past Venomoth and it escaped with only its right wings singed.

Raven raced alongside the attack and leaped just after it reached the opponent. She leapt far to the left, and though it looked like she missed at first, she alone predicted that Venomoth would wing itself away from the fire in reflex. By the time her sickle swung, the Pokémon had placed itself right where she wanted. She sliced a piece of its crown and tore through its wing.

"Mega Punch!" commanded the lead Rocket.

A massive blow met her in the side before she could hit the ground and threw Raven into the wall. Her body smashed a painting to pieces. Ciel shouted, "Get back!"

His partner was in pain. She dripped blood as she pulled herself up. She dove out of the way of a follow-up punch that cracked the wall panel and limped back over towards their side. The Golem had been trapped on the other side of the Flamethrower but barged through the torrent like it was nothing. Tadashi and Hidari held their weapons up even though the creature was Ground-type. It looked impenetrable. Rocks plated its body and only its head and short limbs were free from the boulder-like shape.

"Hold on, Raven!" Ciel exclaimed. He rushed to her side and quickly applied a Super Potion he stashed in his bag. Her breathing was heavy. She was forced down by her own wounds each time she tried to stand.

"I'm gonna give you fucks one last chance to back off before my friend here caves in this building and buries you. Permanently," threatened the leader. His comrades had backed off and recalled their injured Pokémon, apparently having none in reserve. Neither party put forward an attack. Yet. "You know Brock, the Gym Leader over in Kanto? He released this bad boy into a sanctuary a few years back, and it's still my greatest mark to date!"

A Gym Leader's own Pokémon? Ciel cursed himself. He had nothing that could even touch it. Even further, over half his five were weak to Rock and he wouldn't put them in danger. That left Hector or Raven, but what could they do to stop a monster like that? His dad's conflicted face told him that the man was at a similar disadvantage.

"Hey Dad. Raven. I have an idea, but—" He stopped himself. Fully reading his partner's injured partner cleaved his heart in half. He couldn't guarantee it would work. He had no information on her ability even after scouring textbook after textbook, and he'd have to put her through more for only a small chance of beating this Pokémon.

"Spit it out, Ciel," his father said.

Raven bore a sharp eye. She got to her feet as Golem stomped slowly towards them, and this time, she stayed standing.

"Asking this question is probably going to make everything worse," he said in a sad, low voice. He hoped only she could hear. "And if you say no, I understand. But I need to ask anyway. Can you take a hit from Houndoom?"

Nothing about her demeanor changed and she kept that one, unblinking eye leveled at him. It was exactly as she'd been over the past few weeks. He had no view inside her head, no concept of what she thought or felt. All he wanted was to understand her and finally rebuild that bridge he'd slowly found the planks to.

Golem loomed. She continued in silent contemplation. For a few moments, despite the thunderous footsteps, and the shouting between the officers and Rockets, and his father urging him to get up, his world was completely silent aside from the echoes of her hitched breaths.

Then, she growled low and warm. He wasn't an expert, but he knew that was her sound of affirmation. Was it curiosity? Was it pride in fighting a massive, powerful foe? He didn't know what backed her response, but he couldn't waste any more time. He stood.

"Dad, her ability enhances her attack strength when she gets hit sometimes. I've seen it happen, and I think the attack was Dark-type. She resists it, and if it works, we might be able to end this fast."

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"No, I'm not. No book I found talked about it, but there are some other abilities like it. And she's—"

"Well?" shouted the Rocket. A sickening arrogance dripped from his voice. "This is your final warning!"

"Are you sure?" his father repeated in a harsher tone.

" _Yes!_ " Ciel exclaimed.

His father gave the order. He extended his arm. "Twelve, Dark Pulse on Absol."

His Pokémon trusted the command. Its body pulsed black, and when enough energy was gathered, it was expelled. The sinister wave shot forward from deep within his body and washed over Raven, causing her to shake to her core.

The head Rocket threw back his head and erupted in laughter. That cackling bounced off the walls and surrounding him, and Ciel clenched his fist knowing he gave the order to harm his own Pokémon. Between breaths, he ordered his Golem to cease. "You're attacking your _own_ Pokémon? Maybe I'll just let you kill yourselves."

A wavering red aura, invisible from every other angle, surrounded her, and her muscles clenched under her fur. Raven growled her approval when she recovered. Ciel said, "Do it again!"

Another Dark Pulse struck her and sent her skidding on the floor. She growled a third time. Houndoom hit her again. That Rocket's laughter was endless amongst it all.

Finally, Raven leveled her sickle at the paused Golem, which regarded her with contempt and intrigue. She threatened to lose her footing again as she stalked forward. Black lightning flashed across the blade as she prepared her attack—their enemies couldn't detect it, but Ciel could feel the overwhelming energy emanating from her body.

"Finally done? Finally decided to die?" asked the Rocket. "Very well! Kill them! Double-Edge!"

Ciel closed his eyes and calmed himself. Breathe in, breathe out. Raven was doing the same as she neared. Breathe in, breathe out. He opened his eyes, and ordered calmly, "Night Slash."

Raven threw herself at her enemy. That lightning intensified and lashed out from her blade until it engulfed her entire body. She put all her force into her single point of attack. Her enemy barreled forward to crush her. She brought down her blade phased through in a blur and a burst of black lightning. As she reappeared on the other side, Golem's body impacted the floor with a thud, defeated in a single hit.

Tadashi and Hidari were already on the move before the Rockets realized what had happened. The former fired his own stun gun and immobilized two of the gangsters, and when the others tried to run, the latter whipped a bolas. The ranged capture device wrapped itself together around their legs and both of their noses met concrete.

Ciel approached Raven and she regarded him before shortly collapsing. She couldn't keep her eyes open. He applied another super potion and gently scratched her on the head. He said, holding out her Poké Ball, "Thank you for trusting me. I'm getting you to a Pokémon Center as soon as I can."

With her confirmation, he recalled her to the capsule and stood to meet the officers and his father by the downed Rockets. His father had already replaced his paralyzed Houndoom with Inkay.

"Where's your boss?" demanded Tadashi. Hidari held a baton tightly between his hands and let his partner do the talking.

"Head offices are, I don't know, somewhere. You figure it out." The leading Rocket was one of the two caught by the bolas and he'd already been cuffed when Ciel approached. He spit at the officer.

Hidari slapped the baton into one of his palms. The Rocket said, "You need passwords to get in anyway, and I don't even know them. We have to get permission to go in there, so good fucking luck!"

Hidari confirmed that all of them were restrained and unlikely to move and nodded at his compatriot. They all agreed they needed to move on and continued down the halls. Though the first group they encountered was formidable, the hideout was surprisingly empty. They must have spared a lot of manpower during the heist they pulled at the Indigo Plateau.

Their group approached a t-shaped fork and heard more voices coming from up ahead. They bunkered down to fight as another squad of Rockets appeared. This time, there were even more, at least fifteen from Ciel's quick count.

His father ordered his Inkay to use Reflect. The floating creature whirled its tentacles and shined with a psychic power, and from ceiling to floor, the pathway was blocked by a shining wall of light.

"Come on!" he shouted. "We don't have the manpower to fight that many unless we can regroup."

They all turned the corner hard and continued past the shouting voices on the other side of the barrier. His father ordered Inkay to set up barriers behind them until he couldn't anymore. It would prevent them from getting to the front entrance or help their friends, he hoped. The loudspeaker message ordering the Rockets to fight played on loop above them.

They rounded more of the monotonous hallways where members of the Syndicate were waiting for them. In smaller numbers, they were a match. Hidari managed to take another out with his stun gun before he could release a Pokémon, and his father's Inkay knocked unconscious a Nidorina with its Psybeam. The officers cuffed a few more grunts before moving on.

They came into a large open area, looking like a cafeteria or assembly room, and in the center stood Lance and his Dragonite and Ethan with his Togepi in his arms. On their feet were multiple dazed or unconscious Rockets and their Pokémon.

"Report," ordered the Champion, leading Tadashi to explain what they encountered. Ciel stood by and marveled at the green-scaled beast that towered over the rest of the group. The Dragon-type didn't pay him any mind and stood at the ready. As soon as the officer finished his debrief, their other party arrived from a connecting hallway.

"Hey!" called Crystal. She was short of breath and her Azumarill's tail was drooping. Their Mahogany police officers and his mother also looked worse for the wear, the latter even sporting a developing black eye. When Ciel noted it to her, she brushed him off.

"It looks like this side of the structure is one big loop. Every pathway ends up in this big room or back at the entrance, and we haven't found any other possible exits," she said.

"Neither us," said Tadashi, "though we did block off one area with multiple perps. It might have been barracks of sorts."

"We can worry about them later. It seems that this door is the only way through the other side, where the top brass is hiding," said Lance. He pointed to a large pair of iron panels on one wall of the assembly room.

"One of the guys I, ahem, _interrogated_ ," said his mother, who cracked her knuckles, "claimed that we needed two passwords from specifically authorized members. Without two password holders, we don't have another way of getting to who's in charge."

Ciel looked to his father. His father looked to Lance. Lance looked back to him. They nodded.

He withdrew a Poké Ball and released Arden into the room. It built the tall, powerful body of his Typhlosion until the red faded and the Pokémon ignited a wave of flames on the back of his neck. Ciel gave him a thumbs-up. His father's Houndoom also reappeared, still paralyzed but mostly unhurt.

At their combined order, the three Pokémon faced the door. Lance, Ciel, and Daku said together, "Flamethrower."

* * *

"Hey," said a Rocket grunt. His hair was a dirty orange color.

"Yeah?" answered his maroon-headed partner, standing on the other side of the double doors.

"You ever wonder why we're here?" the first one asked.

The other paused for only a moment. "It's one of life's great mysteries, isn't it? Why are we here? Are we the product of some cosmic coincidence, or is there really Arceus watching everything, you know, with a plan for us and stuff? I don't know man, but it keeps me up at night."

A long silence passed between them. There was no sound on that side of the base—the Boss hated to hear her own announcements on repeat, so she removed the PA speakers from the executive suite—and therefore nothing to distract them from that moment of silent contemplation.

The maroon-haired grunt asked, " _What?_ I meant, why are we _here,_ guarding these doors? Only approved personnel can enter this side of the base anyway, not the other way around. We should be guarding the other side of the door. And even then, why do we need to guard a password protected door?"

"Oh," said the other grunt. "Uhh, yeah."

"What was all that stuff about Arceus?"

"Uhh, huh. Nothing."

"You want to talk about it?" asked the other.

"No," the orange-haired one said. A muffled sound rang from the other side of the doors. "Wait, did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" asked his partner. They both turned to look. The door behind them began to steam and its color shifted from cool gray to a blistering red. Its shape bubbled and bulged outward.

They said together, "Son of a—"

The door blasted off its hinges and into the hallway, where it clattered against the floor. The two Rockets were knocked unconscious by the blast and Ciel, Crystal, Gold, Kori, Daku, Lance, and the police officers were free to step from the smoke into the executive suite. They jogged with their active Pokémon through the smaller section of the base. The walls and ceilings were even more cramped, and the light became downright oppressive.

Crystal wiped away sweat collecting on her eyebrow. She kept tight in formation while the group curved through what looked like a simple office space. It looked like she was ten stories up a high-rise, not meters underground. The persistent aroma of tobacco smoke didn't make her any more comfortable, though.

She turned her head to Gold, who was jogging beside her with Crown, his Togepi, curled in his arms and a tonedeaf grin on his mug. She said, "Why was _that_ the Pokémon you chose? This is way too dangerous for a baby."

"Hey, last time I did this, it worked!" he protested.

"Because of luck, you idiot. If you injure that Pokémon, I swear I will destroy you," she said to him. He muttered something and blew a raspberry, but she shut herself off from the conversation.

" _I don't want you to get involved. But if you really do care… I'll be heading to Mahogany."_

His words were clear; her decision was clearer. She did care. He was a friend, and Crystal put that before anything else. If he really understood her, if he really thought of her just the same, he'd know that she'd be there to help when he called. As she carried on through the Rocket compound, all she could do was purse her lips, keep her head high, and prepare for whatever awaited them.

Lance held out his arm and fluttered his cloak with the motion. The entire group came to a silent halt. Ahead of them was a four-way intersection of halls, and shortly after, a squad of Rockets sprinted past the perpendicular route. Crystal held in a breath until the last goon's foot disappeared. The group waited a few seconds before resuming their advance.

A few distant shouts echoed through the walls followed by a resonant shake. Crystal asked, "How did they miss us? Aren't they looking for us if they already know we're here?"

"No," said one of her Mahogany Police companions. She insisted on the moniker "captain," but Crystal wondered how much that mattered given the size of the department. "Those alarms were running before we got here. I think someone else is already inside."

They came upon an open stairwell and descended further into the base. Her head pulsed from the additional pressure. Maron wasn't doing much better, though she wasn't sure if it was the depth or his own exhaustion. The Water-type pushed himself to his limit just to keep pace on his stubby legs. He refused the switch when she offered.

The section on the floor below looked conceptually identical, but it was the small details that turned their proactive jog into a cautious walk to let the officers evaluate the area. The floor was suspiciously free of dust. The paintings on the walls looked even more ornate and expensive, and a few decorative plants lined the walls.

Laid out at the end of the hallway was a pair of wooden doors. They looked out-of-place with the remainder of the complex, and instead of being homely, they were unsettling. For a few meters in front of them, the white-paneled floor switched to a checkerboard pattern. The wide tiles alternated between gray and a dark gold. The officers took note.

The talkative agent drew a dummy object from his belt and chucked it across the room. His aim was true. The object landed at the center of a gold section and they waited for something to happen.

Directly above the tile, a panel of similar size slipped open and an amorphous violet lump dropped. A… Pokémon? It examined their group for a few seconds, and then it began to change. Its body grew in mass and morphed like a bastardized evolution, churning its own material until a dangerous shape appeared. Its powerful muscles, thick tail, small wings, and horn were all alarmingly familiar, and after its color shifted from purple to deep emerald, a completed copy of Lance's Dragonite roared.

Typhlosion, Froslass, Inkay, Azumarill and their side's Dragonite all prepared to fight. The copy-Dragonite summoned power in its mouth and prepared to release. In the small hallway, they had no way to dodge a Hyper Beam. Ciel's father ordered Light Screen and Crystal braced herself.

The wall beside the trap exploded in a shower of debris. From within, an equally massive newcomer threw a punch through the imposter's head. Copy-Dragonite's entire body liquified from the force of impact and it splattered against the paneling before it could fire.

The creature's Trainer hopped through the wreckage of the wall. He ordered, "Yang, punch the floor!"

His Pokémon reared up and smashed a reptilian fist into the tiling. Sparks coursed through the busted assembly, and the trap shorted entirely before more ceiling panels could open. Cracks snaked along the walls around them.

Lance's Dragonite prepared for another attack. His Trainer was on guard and about to give the order. Crystal shouted, "Wait!"

The new arrival turned to face them. His deep red hair was unmistakable. The Pokémon standing beside him towered. He'd grown at least a meter, his body had filled out with musculature rivaling Lance's partner, plating had developed along his limbs and back, and his crest stood sharper. Though his body still sported scars, many of them had been overtaken by the proud scales of his evolution. The Feraligatr met them not with a snarl but a sharp-toothed smile.

"What took you so long?" chided his Trainer.

Crystal rushed past the group and past the apprehensive shouts of the officers to pull him into a tight huh. When his arms wrapped around her in return, her eyes almost welled up. She pushed back to look up at him.

"Hey Crystal," said Silver.

"You dumbass," she said, though she wasn't upset. Far from it. "How did you even get in here? Why didn't you meet us to go together?"

"This base has a secondary exit that empties out in the forests near the Lake of Rage. I needed to collapse it to make sure this worked."

"Why didn't you say something?" she exclaimed.

He dropped his head. Whispering, he said, "I didn't… actually mean to get trapped inside."

"You know what, I don't care. I'm glad you're here. I'm glad you're safe. We've got a job to do."

His Feraligatr dropped his head to take in her scent and then lit up when he realized who she was. He knocked off her hat and ruined her hair with a drag of his tongue. Crystal batted him away and laughed. She looked between them. There was no hostility between Pokémon and Trainer—she could tell it had long since evaporated. When she watched his attack, they seemed in-tune with one another. Two of a kind, they carried themselves now with the same joyful pride that could take down a criminal enterprise. However, their reunion was cut short.

"What exactly is he doing here?" questioned Lance on his approach. He refused to step onto the broken trap until the officers finished a quick inspection.

The red-haired Trainer shied away. Ciel asked, "You know him?"

"There was an uproar at the Indigo League when the Professor's lab was broken into. We punish Pokémon theft with extreme prejudice." Lance motioned to the International Police agents, one of whom drew a pair of handcuffs and closed in. Silver stepped hesitantly backwards. His partner bared bladed gums.

"Hold it sir," said Ciel as he threw himself in front of the Champion, "but he did fight that thing and disabled the trap. Crystal's put her faith in him to help defeat the Rockets, so we should too."

He halted the officers with the suggestion, and when Lance didn't respond, the moment fell to unease. "Err, I meant no disrespect sir! None at all!"

The man relaxed his shoulders and held up a hand. "You're right, we don't have time, but don't think that changes anything."

"Their leader is right through those doors. It's her main office. I prevented her escape, so she has no choice but to meet us," Silver said.

Lance grunted and didn't move, which Silver picked up as permission to lead them. He and his Feraligatr crossed the remainder of the hall with their entire group in tow. Crystal and Maron stayed at their side ahead of the group, though they shared no more words. She spared one last glance at the entourage. Lance and his Dragonite shouldered immense power with each step and the officers trailed in full support. Ciel's Typhlosion burst with excited flames, but it couldn't match the burning determination consuming he and his family. Gold threw up a fist. The Togepi in his arms did the same.

She turned back to Silver. The two threw their weight into the heavy doors to force them open. Slowly, the crack between them widened and the blurred figure behind came into focus.

They filed into the spacious office that turned cramped with their presence. The walls were too clean and too pure despite that yellowing smoke swirling around them. A parallel head of red sat casually behind her desk and let them ready weapons and attack orders before opening her mouth.

"Mr. Masuta, it's a pleasure. If you wanted a roundtable, this isn't the best place." She scanned her eyes across them, regarding everyone except the former Rocket right in front of her.

"You must be their new boss," Lance said.

"Interim Boss, actually. To lay claim to all of this would be conceited of me," the woman said as she stood. The officers held their weapons tighter. Maron reeled back one of his short arms, ready to throw a fist, and she was just as prepared to give the order. "Now, before we do some things we might regret, let's take a few moments and discuss what it is we all want."

Silver stepped forward again and slammed his hands on her desk, pressing his fingertips hard into the fine wood. The woman finally graced him with her attention and their eyes locked.

He said, "You know what I want. _Mom._ "

* * *

 **Whew! Just like the last chapter, this one ended up longer than I expected, but I had a lucky burst of productivity and wrote nearly the entire latter half this past Monday alone.**

 **That said, I was less satisfied with this chapter after a first draft than some of my previous few. Certain elements felt repetitive and the dialogue was more exposition heavy than usual; it constantly felt like I needed to get everyone on the same page, probably because this was the largest collection of characters since the Showdown arc. Hopefully much of that was rectified in my editing. My sneaking suspicion is that this chapter feels a lot like the Shie Hassaikai arc in My Hero Academia. The anime adaptation of it has just finished airing at the time of this being published. What an interesting coincidence.**

 **I was** _ **not**_ **expecting the DLC announcement in the most recent Pokémon Direct. I've always associated Pokémon with a, for lack of a better description, outdated business model. Just like Monster Hunter before World, I just accepted that expanded rereleases were the norm, rather than the continual service model the industry has been shifting towards. It'll be an interesting experiment.**

 **Next time is Chapter 32: The Pretender on February 7th. See you later!**


	32. The Pretender

**This story is co-developed and edited by Titan127.**

 **Disclaimer: Pokémon is a registered property of Nintendo, the Pokémon Company, and GameFreak. This work respectfully uses the world and characters of the Pokémon series, with no intent of harm on the original creators. Please support the official releases of the Pokémon franchise.**

 **Chapter 32: The Pretender (8,070 words)**

* * *

"I don't have a son," Ariana said. A cigar rested between her index and middle fingers, trailing smoke at her side. She brought it up to her lips and nursed it as she let her words linger. As if it was the only thing in the world that mattered, as if she wasn't being threatened in her bastion by a squad of Trainers and watching her Syndicate crumble around her.

Asshole. She knew every which way to poke and prod him, with her offhanded gestures and halfway glances and breathless silences. Every way she could, she ignored him, unless he demanded her to pay attention like a whining child and proved her mocking gaze right. Even facing police officers and skilled Trainers alike, she selfishly claimed the stage as her own in that gaudy white suit. He hated it. He hated _her_.

"I want you to fail," he said.

"Are you going to make that happen?" the woman asked. Another drag on her cigar consumed what was left in fire and she tossed the butt into a tray on her desk. "That's not like you."

He motioned behind him. He specifically wanted her to notice the two-and-a-half-meter behemoth under the Champion's command. He wasn't stupid enough to oppose the Pokémon League, and she wasn't either. But he couldn't read anything about her that told him she was scared.

One of the police officers stepped forward. He said, "You are under arrest on suspect of masterminding criminal operations. Come quietly."

Also presenting himself in front was that blond-haired kid and the burning creature to his side. "You don't have anywhere to go," he said, with a nerve Ariana didn't appreciate. "We've destroyed you."

No, she wouldn't come quietly. That wouldn't be her "style". The woman scoffed at the notion and continued chastising Silver. "Losing this facility means nothing. Failing a mission means nothing. The state of the world means _nothing._ You of all people should know what being a Rocket means."

He felt an intense aura descend upon him. Slowly turning his head, he saw the Champion's face. The man was already up his ass. Silver knew he'd be putting himself on the line by helping them, because nothing would change what he did in the past. Everything was on the table from this point on.

"Obviously you've forgotten those lessons since you left. That Pokémon you stole isn't serving you. It looks more like a showpiece than a fighting machine," she taunted. Yang's muscles were tensed to smash the desk. In her opinion the Pokémon's low, guttural echo might have been a whimper. Silver couldn't comprehend how or why that _pissed_ him off. Even though the insult was aimed at the Pokémon, it went straight to his head. He hadn't felt that same unbridled, blood-pumping, sight-blurring anger since the day he left and cursed everything behind him.

"You don't know what the fuck you're talking about," he said. For the first time in his life, his mother ceded to him—he had never once seen her flinch at his words.

Since the day Crystal saw them off, Silver worked towards an agreement No, he'd been working for it long before that, in their stupid training sessions and the stupid goody-two-shoes work and the stupid agreement he made with her at Azalea. But why was it stupid? He couldn't even remember. The time seemed to escape him when he looked back on it and he only realized what had changed one day shortly after his Pokémon evolved. Something he saw must have been a riot, because he smiled at it. And the Pokémon copied him. Silver wasn't sure the reptile comprehended the gesture's meaning but witnessing his Pokémon—his partner—take his actions as a model hurt him deep in the most ass-backwards way.

That's what finally gave him the courage to give Feraligatr a nickname, and miraculously, he accepted it. Yang.

"I don't understand what it means anymore. I'm not sure you do either, Ariana," Silver said.

Whatever polite demeanor she had vanished behind a blank face. It was something horrifying masking itself as neutrality. "Choose your next words carefully."

"You have no room to be issuing threats," the Champion boomed, though it was clear Silver was also the object of the command. As he did this, his Dragonite took a few steps forward and bared its claws. "Stop this bickering and come along peacefully so we aren't forced to take drastic action."

Silver decided to keep going despite the Champion's intense stare. He disobeyed the Region's so-called hero. "You can talk big all you want about being a Rocket. But you aren't willing to let everything go. Your philosophy is bullshit and you've been leading these idiots wrong."

"Silver! What do you think you're doing?" asked Crystal behind him, teeth clenched. He cast her a sideways glance and hoped she'd understand that he needed to do this.

He was going to break her, because maybe then, the Rocket Syndicate would break too. Her composure slipped for a second. The tiniest twitch in her eyelid. A crease in the wrinkles above her eyebrows.

"This entire organization," he said, emphasizing the last word heavily, "is a sham. You're a sham! And Giovanni _isn't coming back!_ "

In a single moment, the woman reached under her desk. She stood with murderous intent, like a starving wild Pokémon or a doped-up backstreet thug. There was a flash of metal. Ariana leveled a handgun across the desk with Silver in its sights.

"Whoa!" shouted the blond kid next to him. Silver mind was blurring, and he was losing control of his surroundings. There was an uproar among the entire crowd and the standoff deepened, especially because the International Police hounds didn't have equal firearms to counter.

"Put the gun down, now!" ordered an officer.

Silver looked down the barrel of death. Firearms were illegal for civilians in every Region except Orre. He knew from personal experience that the Rockets took massive advantage of that black market for guns. They were a symbol of status and a declaration of power over the Pokémon League, and staring at one absolutely terrified him. His arm shook—and his legs, and his spine, and his everything. But for some reason, Silver kept talking.

"Giovanni isn't coming back, ever," he said. His voice cracked. It made him sound like a fucking kid. Yang's offensive posture tried to stand in for him.

Her arm was shaking too, and the firearm wavered in her clenched fingers. She danced with the trigger, putting gradual pressure on her index finger. Bile burning in his throat as seconds ticked away.

"He doesn't care about you. He hasn't thought about you, or me, or anyone but himself since the day he left, because that's what a Rocket does. If he even saw your heist on the news, he'd see a spoiled brat crying for what she can't have."

"Stand down, both of you!" ordered a police officer. It was a vain attempt to reel in the situation. There was only one way it could end now, and Silver was too far over the line to step back.

"Face it, Ariana! The Rocket Syndicate is dead, and you killed it!"

The gun fell in silence. Everyone jumped when it clattered on the desk, afraid of a sudden discharge, but it simply rocked back and forth until it was still. The Rocket Boss fell backwards into her nice lounge chair behind her nice desk, slumped over, and didn't move. An officer quickly retrieved the handgun, removed the magazine, and pulled back the slide to empty the loaded bullet. The threat was neutralized.

Silver lost all control of his legs and dropped to his knees before her. Even though he had to look up at her, he knew he'd won. She couldn't hold herself high anymore.

"You reminded me so much of him before you left," she croaked. A new cigar slipped from her fingers when she tried to light it up. "Now I don't even know who you are."

He didn't have an answer. Silver may have once claimed that he knew what he was all about, but sometime in the past year, that understanding was unceremoniously dumped on the side of the road. He kept reaching back while those two dragged him around the Johto Region, but he never got his hands around it. Crystal had the answer—maybe not the answer he wanted, but an answer nonetheless—and offered her hand to help him up.

She said, "He's our friend. That's who he is."

Ariana had nothing snide or witty or tough to say. Two of the officers, the beat-up looking ragged ones, scooted around her desk and pulled her from the chair. Cuffs were locked around her wrists behind her back, wrinkling her fine white sleeves. It took everyone in the room a while, even with the gun contained, to finally cool off.

They walked the confined halls with their high-profile prisoner. He kept himself at the front to put the weird Gym Leader family between himself and his mother. Maybe it was the adrenaline, but no more chatter passed between the people there. Not even Crystal, who seemed unsure of how to break the tension of the officers and that stuck-up Champion who all had their eyes on him. An oppressive aura crept up on him as he led them back up the stairs. He felt it grab his shoulders and crush him.

"Dude, that was so _badass!"_ Gold said, leaning his head over Silver's left side. "Oooh, wait, that's dirty language. But anyway, I knew you were gonna pull some PokeStar Studios move!"

A tremendous sigh left him. "I can't believe I actually missed you, you moron."

"It's 'moron' from you, and 'idiot' from her. I'm like an old-timey noble, marrying off all my children and snatching every title in the kingdom. And this is my crown." He held up the Togepi in his arms. Despite the standoff in Ariana's office, it wasn't on-edge, probably because the tiny thing didn't know any better. That must be nice.

He didn't know how long his tolerance for the wide-eyed zeal would last. The guy shoved himself in front of Yang and examined him all over. There was some care behind it; no matter how much he pried, he made it a point to never physically touch the Feraligatr. He was afraid of bringing up old memories. He said, "You've grown so big since grandpa last saw you."

Crystal came up beside him with the blond kid. Err, what was it? He knew it started with a 'C'. She had mentioned it a few times before, and he'd seen it somewhere in Goldenrod, because Crystal and Gold watched him fight in that boring tournament.

"I, um, don't think we were ever properly introduced." He put a hand forward as they walked.

Silver eyed it. He searched his face for some unstated judgement, some superiority that he was hiding behind a sickeningly pleasant facade. Then he realized what a dumbass he was being and shook. They exchanged names. Ciel, that was right. What a dumb name.

"So that was the Totodile you, umm…" He trailed off. "Sorry. A lot happened that I wasn't there for."

"It's fine. Whatever," said Silver. The kid, like Gold, had also received a Pokémon from the jittery Professor in New Bark, hadn't he? He only caught a glimpse of it at the tournament, back when it was a weak little squeaking thing, but now it was a show-stealing powerhouse. The partially melted, waylaid doors to the executive suite were probably its doing.

They emerged in the main commons area of the base. In front of them were legions of active Pokémon. The victorious mood cracked. Everyone—Yang, the Champion's Dragonite, the Gym Leaders' Froslass and Houndoom, what's-his-name's Typhlosion, and Crystal's Azumarill—primed an attack. Even that stupid little Togepi waggled its little nub back and forth.

"This must be the group from the barracks," informed the male Gym Leader.

Those idiots hadn't collapsed that part of the building by then? It was one half-assed military operation if you asked him, and now they were up to _their_ asses in it. Silver's sight was blocked by Yang throwing himself in front. He appreciated the gesture in the moment, even if he wasn't sure how much it mattered.

"Kill them!" shouted one, maybe two, or even three grunts in the offensive pile. There were other cursing declarations and blood lusting calls among them, but all Silver cared about was the descending wave of power.

Fearow, Golbat, Donphan, Tauros, Tangela, Lickitung. Those we're all he could pick out just scanning his eyes, but there were dozens more in the mass. They attacked. Psychic waves flew. Able-bodied Pokémon charged. Thunderbolts fired.

In front of them, the floor paneling was suddenly hoisted by an unknown force. It raised at least three meters and the wave of attacks from the other side crashed into their sudden shield. Silver saw that stupid, in-over-its-head Togepi waggling its finger in Gold's arms. The Champion ordered his Dragonite to charge a Hyper Beam during their respite. Not that it was going to last long, as the paneling was already cracking as the attacks attempted to bust through. Entire pieces fell away.

In the same moment that a Tauros's Giga Impact shattered the raised flooring into pieces, one voice cried out above the rest.

"I order you to stop!"

She should have just kept her mouth shut and let them deal with her mess so he wouldn't have to listen to her anymore, but she couldn't let him have his way. And the Rockets listened.

"All of you, just stop. Stop it now. It doesn't matter," she said, starting as a command and ending as an aimless mutter. The officers kept their grip around her arms. "The Rocket Syndicate is formally disbanded, on my word. All of you stop fighting and give me some peace and quiet."

This stopped the Rockets, for only a moment. All those among them whispered amongst themselves, probably thinking all high and mighty that they could take the opposing group by sheer numbers. Visible confusion rippled between them and their Pokémon.

Dozens of agents of the International Police suddenly spilled into the hallways and came up the rear of the remaining Rockets from the direction of the entrance, many of them with Pokémon in tow. They put the sniveling group of desperate children to shame. That just riled them up further and they shouted for another attack.

Surrounded, desperately outmatched, and leaderless, it was already over. Ariana's declaration didn't matter, but of course, she needed to have the last word. That bitch.

* * *

Just as Lance claimed, Mahogany was populated by International Police agents by the time they returned to the surface. They had blocked off major exits to the town in no time flat. All the activity and shuffling feet was carving into the snow layer, and the fog had dissipated in the past hour. Crystal glanced around at the commotion and was disturbed by the arguments between the authorities and the surprised residents—one officer shoved a man to the ground after he raised his voice. She wanted this whole situation to be over.

The group that followed them down emerged shortly after with the first wave of restrained Rockets in tow, leading them to some nearby waiting vans. Mahogany barely had a prison, so she guessed they'd be taken to Goldenrod and then flown to trial at the Indigo Plateau. Lance barked at his subordinates to check every corner of the complex for stragglers.

There wasn't much to do while they waited for the mess to be cleaned up. The International Police shoved her away when she offered to help and now half the town was behind tape. She hugged herself to keep out the cold and stood by her friends. Silver was despondent and wouldn't take his eyes off the Rocket headquarters' dismemberment

Ciel and his father retrieved the small group of medical staff from the Pokémon Center and an old medical cart pulsing with machinery. They spoke with the person she assumed was the head of the Center staff, an older woman tied up with a bandana. Officers came by to deposit capsules confiscated from the Rockets at regular intervals.

The younger Trainer broke away and jogged over to them. He looked worse for wear and she had to remind him to zip his jacket after he started shivering. He said, "The staff say there's not enough room for all the Pokémon involved, but they can check for major injuries and handle what they can."

Crystal offered a capsule. Maron was sitting on his rump at her side, dozing. She tapped the button and recalled him, and once the materialization beam fully retracted, he took it.

"Maron should be fine. He'll probably be in and out of naps for a week, but he's taken a lot worse." She'd avoided Maron taking another injury like the scar from Slowpoke Well. That was a success in her eyes.

Rather than the polite option, Gold tossed a capsule directly at him. It hit Ciel in the forehead, he grunted, and then it fell into his open palms with hers. He said, "Gee, thanks."

"I don't even need med stuff," Gold said, cross-legged on the floor and playing with the ball's respective Pokémon. A piece of his clothing—she didn't know or want to know where it was ripped from—was wrapped around the Pokémon's body to keep it warm. He put forward a hand and the Togepi delivered the highest-effort high-five she'd probably ever seen. "Crown here didn't even take a single hit."

"Then do you want your—"

"I'm participating!" Gold shouted, cutting him off.

That only left Silver, who still hadn't peeled his gaze away from his mother and her empire. The physical resemblance was uncanny. Obviously, they had spent years together, yet here he was, permanently throwing away his family and severing connections to his twisted childhood. She knew Silver wouldn't look back, but there was something undeniably sad about him being forced to start anew to what Crystal believed was no fault of his own.

Ciel stepped up beside him and asked, "What about you? Does your Pokémon need anything?"

He waited, and was about to ask again, when Silver turned to him. He provided three Poké Balls after recalling the standing Feraligatr. "Sorry. I'm just not feeling great right now. Yang was battling for a while, and I've also got a Golbat and a Haunter. Don't mess with them."

He shoved his hands into his hoodie and shrunk in on himself, leaving Ciel to return to his father. Once all the Pokémon were accounted for, the few nurses and doctors pushed the cart back through the snow. A few of the International Police's trainers accompanied them just in case any of the Rocket-owned Pokémon tried to cause any damage.

A commotion began shortly after. Lance had broken away from the police units and approached Silver, armed with palpable anger. He backed away and shouted, and though he kicked off to run, the larger man grabbed the boy's arms and locked them behind his back. The contorting pain made Silver shout.

"Wait, stop!" shouted Lyra. They should be celebrating the victory against the Rockets, not causing even more grief. She already hated how the officers were manhandling Mahogany.

"Great work. I needed him separated from the Feraligatr so he couldn't do something stupid." The Champion aimed the sickening praise at Ciel, which made him drop his head. He was just helping the Pokémon. The man continued, "He's a thief, he's associated with the Rockets, and he escalated a police operation to the point that a gun was almost fired. Either I arrest him or someone with a less gentle touch does it for me."

"Get off me!" shouted Silver, but he couldn't oppose the Champion's overpowering strength.

Lance squeezed further on his arms. The boy stopped resisting when the cuffs fastened around his wrists. He mirrored his mother meters away as the doors of the police transport closed—restrained and slowly letting his will slip away. He was forced to his knees and he slumped over. Lance called over officers to move him to the van.

Crystal's eyes darted to her friends. The twitching in their bodies meant they wanted to move but couldn't. How could they? He was the most powerful Trainer in the region, one of the most respected people worldwide who had the entire Indigo League on his side. She pleaded to Ciel with her eyes to help, because he'd had the gall to challenge the Champion down in the base, but his adrenaline had evaporated by the time they reached the surface.

Even if she could move, she couldn't muster up a disagreement. From almost every perspective, Lance was in the right. Silver had done all those things and helping to stop one criminal enterprise wasn't an even trade for his years of service to them. It was a logical and just course of action.

For the third time, she was too paralyzed to take the step. She was watching him fade away when she should be jumping to help. Why the hell was she so _stupid_? She was always stupid.

It dawned on her, however, that she needed to be stupid. It was stupid not to chase him further into Route 29. It was stupid to let him run away at that Olivine restaurant. But here, the stupid choice was to stand up and fight for him. She said, simply, "No."

Of course, it was ignored. It wasn't loud, and the scuffle of the officers dragging the boy on the ground gave no room for distractions.

She repeated it louder. Silver caught it. He muttered an inaudible something, and whatever it was, it gave Crystal the courage to cry out.

" _No!"_ she exclaimed with enough power to stun the Champion. "Let him go!"

Lance stared. The officers stopped in their tracks and waited for his order, and when he collected himself, he said, "This isn't your decision."

"Yes, it is! You said we could have any one thing we wanted. I want you to grant Silver a full and unquestioned pardon," Crystal said, "and I expect the Champion of Indigo to keep his word."

She'd be the greediest person on Earth and take what she could. He had his foot in the Plateau's door, and he could pull the strings to make it happen. If he was offering any wish on the planet, then for the tiniest moment, she could steal due process.

Lance stepped up to her. His towering presence threatened to crush her if she gave in. She wouldn't. There was no way she would give up everything they had worked towards.

"Why do you care about him?" he asked.

"Anyone who's willing to take a second chance deserves to receive it," said Crystal.

"That's what rehabilitation is for, young lady," the Champion replied dryly.

"If you're going to go back on your word, then just say so."

He leaned down and fought her in a subtle battle. If her words made any effect on him, he didn't let it show—he simply swung his iron will at hers and expected her to crack. When she didn't, when she stood strong like a pillar, he backed away, motioned to the officers, and frowned. They released the cuffs and Silver fell on his hands and knees.

"We're going to be in Mahogany for some time while we clean up. It would be fair to contact Professor Elm for his opinion and confirm his involvement with the Rocket leader. I'll make my decision by the time we leave." Lance didn't wait for a reaction, flared his cloak on his turn, and returned to the sealed-off souvenir shop. The officers had set up a temporary "camp" around it for lack of proper government buildings.

She almost had a heart attack. Ciel barely caught her when she toppled over and she held there just to catch her breath. Gold offered himself as a second support and she graciously accepted.

"That was… crazy," Ciel said.

She _was_ crazy. That could have made her an enemy of the entire Pokémon League and she didn't care one little bit. She did it for a friend.

Silver picked himself up off the ground and staggered over to them. She didn't even need to say anything. She put out her arms. The four of them joined into a warm embrace, and for a little while, everything was fine.

* * *

Ciel wondered how the Pokémon Center would manage. He'd only visited for a short time with Pryce once, but the building was about as large as the average tatami room and there were only a few centimeters between his head and the ceiling. Not only that, it was falling apart at its frame, rotting away slowly from years without maintenance. How exactly could it handle hundreds of Pokémon coming through for a check-up?

The answer: it couldn't. Ciel could barely fit in the doorway past the workers and Pokémon spilling outside. He managed to worm his way past feathers, plating, fur, skin, and waylaid medical equipment to shove himself on an empty bench. Not only were the Center staff and two-person Mahogany police force there, but volunteering residents were receiving instruction from the head nurse. His mother was already hard at work bandaging a Weepinbell and shouting at people to keep in coming and get it moving.

The Center's dying lights were supplemented by contributed candles and lanterns. It revealed the peeling wallpaper in greater detail, which flaked at the slightest touch and stirred up into a powder. No matter the facility's condition, the staff and townsfolk gladly did what they needed

He wanted to help. But he needed time to sit. Sit and even out. So, he watched the madness with a thin smile. The hanging panel for Pokémon in the back room could only hold six names on deck, undoubtedly more than those that needed proper treatment. He was surprised to see "ABSOL" at the very top.

Not long after he settled in, one Pokémon was released that didn't take kindly to the treatment. It was a simian creature with white fur and sharp claws. Once it materialized, it thrashed in the center of the room and slashed at the nurse nearest.

His mother already had her Froslass ready. "Onno, Powder Snow!"

The air around the attacker chilled into a slush, dispersing heat further into the room as it was sapped from the moisture. The snow stuck to it more and more and quickly cooled its body temperature until its limbs locked and it had no more energy to move. Once clear, the nurse moved in.

Most of the Rocket Pokémon accepted medical aid but none were comfortable. A Gligar snapped pincers at the slightest touch and forced the poor villager to use absolute caution while checking its vitals. Others had similar knee-jerk reactions that made Ciel even more livid at the criminals. They needed to be put down long before. At least the League would eventually put those poor Pokémon in good hands.

His father pushed his way inside and Pryce was right behind him. A Rocket Machoke elbowed him in the head when he tried to push through the crowd. Pryce cackled. He was eventually able to brave the minefield and meet his wife, while the older man approached the Center head and shared with her a short kiss. Ciel's mother was more determined and shooed her husband away, and soon he beelined towards him on the bench.

He groaned as he sat down and said, "That should be the last of them. The IP's moved onto seizing evidence, so we'll only get more if they happen to stumble upon anyone in hiding." He pointed up the status screen. "I made sure she was the first for major care."

"Thanks," said Ciel. "How are you, erm, I mean, are you doing good?"

Ugh. He was stumbling over his words for no reason. He and his father still needed to talk around some things, and it would only happen with time, but so many times the past week his tongue had been tied. It's like he was afraid of it. He sat on the edge of something new, unsure how to jump off even though they'd shown together that a soft landing awaited. His father didn't pay it any mind though.

"I still hear ringing. Honestly, I might get that checked. I told Houndoom that I liked the enthusiasm but to tone it down next time," he said. Ciel couldn't even imagine the scene of his father telling-off his wicked canine like it was a puppy. Really. He didn't recall it ever happening before. "Other than that, I'm okay. Thanks to you. You and your partner were really brave down there."

He blinked. "Why did you let me go?"

"Hard to say. When your mom sent you off the first time, she thought you were ready. I, well, I didn't," he said, bluntly.

He didn't believe it either, to tell the truth. He'd scraped by on the skin of his teeth and thought she was crazy for sending him off. He was ready to turn back by Cherrygrove. Then Brent dragged him full speed ahead.

His father continued. "I guess I had to be the one to talk her out of her doubts this time. I trust the you that she believed in, and I think you've proven that's who you are."

He was probably beet red. Hearing it out of his father's mouth was implosive. He had nothing to throw back, no proper thanks, and no easy way to tell the man how much it meant. He was able to ask, however, "Armed criminals?"

The man shrugged. "We had Lance. The guy just makes you feel like you can do anything."

Whatever shot him into the stratosphere faded when the conversation died. He plummeted back down to earth, especially when he remembered that he still hadn't convinced someone important to believe in him. She trusted him for a moment, but he still felt terrible for using a strategy like that, even in a perilous situation. He wasn't thinking straight. She was hurt because of him.

Ciel cast his gaze back up to the board, where Raven's species name had disappeared from the top. A woman appeared from the door and called out that she was ready. His father stood and extended his hand. Ciel didn't take it immediately, yet the belief etched into his face convinced him to grab on and drag himself to his feet. They walked into the back room of the tiny center once they cleared the menagerie.

The showdown inside wasn't what he expected nor what he knew how to deal with. Filling up the room and having to arch its back just to fit under the ceiling, Silver's Feraligatr was locked in stance opposite Raven on the bed. An intensive care capsule laid beyond that was thankfully empty. Both growled, chirped, and bellowed, cycling through sounds, leaving him confused on what exactly was happening.

The back room was slightly better maintained than the lobby. At least the wallpaper stayed on the walls and he didn't feel like he was inside a moldy garden shed. Most of the machinery, while outdated, pulsed with life and showed no signs of malfunction, but he wasn't an expert to know that for sure.

The two Pokémon dominated the space around them and barely noticed them enter the room. The nurse squeezed herself between him and his father. "Can you find this one's Trainer? It's harder to keep nudging him outside than to just let him be. This is bad procedure."

She seems to have forced him into some kind of transparent garment that fell around his front and posterior, though it wasn't long enough to reach his legs. Ciel assumed it was an attempt to keep the area as sterile as possible. The place certainly smelled like exhausted Pokémon, so if there was anything in the air, that ship had sailed. Raven didn't have any outside wounds for it to matter too much.

Hesitantly, he pushed himself forward and tapped the button on Raven's capsule to enlarge it to ready state. He wasn't sure if it was going to be visceral and he could only guess for signs of escalation. Twitching claws, raised hairs, he couldn't see any obvious signs. He was still uneasy.

"It's, uhh, time to go," he said, holding out the Poké Ball. Not that he expected her to take it, of course.

A side-eyed glance was all she conceded before returning to her battle. Their psychic line was an impenetrable steel thread that neither had the strength to pull away from. It's not like the two knew each other. Did they just get off on the wrong foot, or did Silver's Feraligatr overstep his boundaries? Pokémon communication was beyond confusing and there was no telling what one species considered aggressive. The massive stature held by the reptile was frightening on its own.

Looking back, his father was prepared to send out his own if things got very out of hand, very quickly. The responses were increasingly heated and challenging—they were pushing further into each other's bubbles. Now it was definitely escalating. Ciel held out a hand. "Ma'am, stay behind us."

And then, it stopped. The communication, whatever it was, ceased when Feraligatr leaned back. The reptilian Pokémon lumbered past him, but it stopped for a few seconds and stretched a clawed, scaled appendage tapped him on the head. It was a mechanical motion, binary, just up and down, but Ciel supposed the spirit was there. The Pokémon made for the door and burst through the upper wall as it left, not bothering to duck to meet the doorframe. Drywall and insulation spilled around the floor.

Leaving his father to deal with the melting-down nurse, he presented himself to his partner. The bed sat high enough for her to meet him at eye level. Her black tail was at attention and her blade shined under the bar light. He almost thought she was going to strike.

He withdrew a can of Pokémon food from his bag. It was really basic stuff; preserved Stantler meat dressed in a berry puree. It was all he could manage to grab in the few seconds he dropped by the house. After cracking it open and setting it on the bed, he said, "I brought this, just in case. I didn't know how long you were gonna be here."

The floor must have looked interesting because that's all he wanted to look at. His father had finally calmed the nurse down, and though he missed the conversation, Ciel assumed he goaded her into the lobby to give them a few moments alone, as he heard the door close among what remained of the doorframe. He wasn't making good use of the time already, so he decides to skip to the point.

"You let Arden decide for you last time. Do you really want me as your Trainer?" Ciel asked

She didn't give an obvious answer. It was never obvious. She leaned down to inspect the can of food, then scratched herself with a hind leg before dropping to her stomach. It was as if he didn't exist at all. He could never get through to her to tell him how he felt, and he could never properly make up for abandoning them the first time, could he? He clutched the Poké Ball tightly enough to break his fingers. He looked among all the waylaid medical tools, metal instruments, forceps, blades, and numerous pieces of bulky vital-recording equipment, none of which should have been necessary.

He sometimes thought about the Trainer-Pokémon relationship since he discussed it with Chuck. Pokémon do like to battle, at least most of them, but only if the Trainer provided a safe and supportive environment. He'd failed to meet her expectations, and worse, he'd intentionally put her in harm's way to save himself. Yet she'd trusted him then. Ciel, more than anything, wanted to know. Know that he was doing the right thing. Or even know that he was doing the wrong thing, and that he should release her back into the wild. Any message that would save him from drowning in the pool of thought that had filled since Olivine and threatened to spill over.

It was mostly quiet in that backroom. He could hear echoes of the commotion in the lobby. But it was quiet, and there was no one but the two. She laid unmoving on the bed.

And then, he heard a sound, a noise he barely recognized because it had been months since it last passed his ears. It was a low rumble of comfort and happiness. She was purring.

He reached hand and rested it on her head. There was no growl to be heard nor any aggressive motion to make him back off. He ran his fingertips along the dense hairs on her head, above the singular spot of black, which made her angle into the contact. She never acted like this. Ciel kneeled and rested his elbows on the edge of the bed.

"What did he say to you?" he asked.

"I might know," said someone. They must have slipped in while Ciel was bumbling around his own head. He turned to see Silver standing idly by the doorway, leaning back against the wall, hands shoved into his hoodie and looking washed-up. Why he'd even want to poke around after what happened with Lance was beyond him, but Ciel was glad he wasn't just talking to himself.

Ciel stood up to meet him when he walked over. He said, "Yang saw a lot in me, even if I don't really get it. Maybe he wanted yours to see something she wasn't."

"Do you think you'll ever make up for what happened?" he asked. He hated how blunt it was, but there was no taking it back once he blurted it out. No one would want to revisit that time—whether to hide what they did or to move on—but by asking, he wasn't giving Silver a choice.

"No," he said. "But I guess it's not up to me. I just have to trust his decision."

Trust. It was an equal exchange, just like Chuck said. He needed to trust in her decisions, and the intent of her feelings behind them, just like she needed to trust his. Even when there were mistakes, he still trusted her. Maybe she finally built back up hers in return.

The nurse pushed her way back into the back room. She noticed the two Trainers, and said, "Everyone, out! I need to wipe this whole place down for the next patient. Bad practice!"

His father poked his head in as well, "Ciel, some people are switching off duty out here to eat. We need some extra hands."

He looked to Silver a moment, who shrugged, and then to Raven, who had dozed off in place on the bed. He gently placed a hand high on her back, above where her heart was. He nodded to himself. "Right behind you."

* * *

When they finally escaped the Pokémon Center, it was deep blue at the end of twilight. Gas torches lit the path home where Ciel walked with his parents. His mother had one arm around him with a fold of her robe draped over him, helping him to stave off the cold.

During the short walk through the village, he couldn't keep his eyes off the bright lights emanating from the International Police's taped-off camp. They had already sent their vehicles across the mountains, first the prisoner transports and second for the cargo of Pokémon in need of minor medical treatment. However, they obviously weren't yet cleaned up, as they'd stacked various pieces of mechanical equipment outside the souvenir shop. An entire tree was knocked over and stripped of its needles, revealing it not to be organic but a giant mechanical antenna. Agents were tearing it apart, along with tubed engines wired to it.

He didn't care. He just wanted to get home and see his sister and talk with Crystal and Gold and lay about his room trying to sleep, not knowing if he'd be out when he hit the pillow or too rattled to close his eyes. With his friends staying over, they could chat through the morning hours and sleep until the afternoon. As they passed through the trees, flashes of artificial light peeking through each gap, he noticed that his friends weren't back at the house like they said they'd be.

He mentioned this to his parents, and they veered off course through the brush. Two agents guarding the taped area moved aside to allow them to pass. The closer he neared, the more apparent the dreadful atmosphere was. Crystal was melting snow with her pacing. Gold and Silver were talking quietly amongst themselves. Gold being reserved was what really tipped him off.

Lance and Tadashi stood central to the three, along with a few more agents examining the salvaged equipment. He must have contacted the Professor by then. Was this Silver's trial?

"What's going on? Can we please give it a rest for the night?" asked his mother. She put a hand on her hip.

"We, uhh, we might have a problem, Ciel," said Crystal.

He motioned to the red-haired boy, but she shook her head. His relief lasted only until Lance spoke up.

"Kori, Daku, I'm sorry to say this, but I need to call on your family again. Our intel reported that the Rocket organization was about one-thousand strong, and even if this was their main base, we only detained a fraction of their forces. Our agents discovered a sealed room in the complex less than an hour ago containing all their communication equipment," said Lance. Ciel's eyes drifted to the downed radio antennae and other junk lying about.

"Isn't that a good thing?" His mom let out a yawn. "Now they can't communicate with any stragglers from high up. They have no more leadership."

Tadashi presented a small recording device in his hands, thumb hovering over a button on the side and shook his head. "This is their last transmission. We cut it off as soon as we could, but it's been broadcasting on their secure channel since shortly after we captured Ariana."

He pushed the button.

" _Attention all Rockets. The time for our rebirth is at hand,"_ said a voice that was unmistakably identical to their boss. _"All units converge onto Goldenrod City and overtake the city's public radio tower. All current operations are hereby suspended until this is complete. We will summon Giovanni to lead us into our new future. Glory to the Rockets! Attention all Rockets. The time for our rebirth is…"_

It repeated. Then again. When Tadashi finally shut off the device and returned it to a pocket on his vest, Ciel felt like the message was permanently burned into his brain.

"I thought she formally disbanded them," Ciel said. She just seemed so tired in her words, and the base has been locked down since the last battle between the International Police and the remaining grunts.

"You trust a gangster to keep her promises?" Lance immediately shot him down, and once again he felt miniscule opposed to the most powerful man in the Region. He backed off, embarrassed.

Ciel's father tapped his foot and twitched his fingers while trying to process. He must have wanted time to rest, time to recover, because even his service to the Pokémon League had its limits. His wife took one of his hands to soothe his nerves. With defiant acceptance, he asked, "What resistance are we expecting?"

"Between here, Azalea Town, and the Indigo Plateau, we can only account for about one-hundred thirty Rockets. If this message somehow reached every Rocket in Johto," the Champion said, not bothering to hammer home the figure, "Then it's our duty to travel to Goldenrod to assist."

They still weren't finished. They wouldn't be finished until every last Rocket was in custody and they couldn't hurt anyone else, human or Pokémon. The bodies they left behind, from those Slowpoke to the rare Gyarados at the Lake of Rage to the potential thousands that went unrecorded, couldn't rest until they were stopped. There was no telling how much human suffering their accession had caused as well.

Crystal and Silver, bags under their eyes, shared a nonverbal confirmation. They refused to let their fatigue triumph over their need to make things right. They'd seen from both sides what damage they were leaving unchecked, and with the Pokémon League now fully committed to the Rocket menace, they were being given the chance to close the door permanently.

He would join them. He hadn't realized he was scratching the thin line on his neck until it started to rub raw. He'd been doing it unconsciously for months.

"Hey!" Ciel looked over to see his sister wading through the snow. She trudged through until the snow thinned around the cordoned-off site. Not even bothering to let the guards clear her, she ducked underneath the tape and sprung up on the other side. "I was wondering where everyone was."

He walked over to his sister and bent over to meet her at eye level. She was balled up in jackets and he could hardly tell where the girl was inside the endless layers. Her knees were white with snow and residue ran up her outer jacket's sleeves. It was cute how her nose matched the red tint of her hair.

"Why are the police here? They wouldn't let us leave school without an adult, so Pryce came to pick me up again," she said.

Ciel placed a finger over her lips and she giggled. His parents were obviously occupied, judging by the activity behind him, so it was up to him to divert her attention. "Don't worry about it. You know what day tomorrow is?"

She thought for a second, then lit up like the sun. It could have melted the village into an early summer. "January 6th!"

"And you know what we're gonna do when you get home from school tomorrow?"

"Birthday cake!" She threw her arms diagonally outward, fists closed.

"Stay with Pryce tonight and do your best tomorrow. It'll make the celebration even better." He ruffled her hair gently.

They both cast their eyes back to the commotion, where Lance had released his Dragonite. All three of them. The one with emerald scales stood in the middle, while more common orange-plated ones were raring at its flanks. They were extremely rare and powerful Pokémon, and he might have been one of few people to ever see more than one in the same place. There were some subtle differences between them. One had larger wings with more membrane sections, another had a stockier build, and Lance's shining partner had a longer horn and sharper snout. Ciel had no doubt they had the power to fly them to Goldenrod, assuming they could survive the trip.

Laina wasn't stupid. Not in the slightest. She asked, "Will you be okay?"

"With them? Absolutely," he said.

He bid goodbye. She wished him good luck, shouted an "I love you" to Mom and Dad as they prepared to take off, and disappeared back into the village toward Pryce's house.

The agents had retrieved riding gear from one of their remaining vehicles and were outfitting the Dragonite to fly. Crystal and Gold were already saddled up. Two could fit two each, but Lance's larger beast had space for three.

He had no idea how dangerous this would be. But he had some of the best Trainers and best friends he had ever met by his side. And he had his team.

He was still missing someone, though, someone who promised to be there when the time arose. He dropped his backpack and rifled through it. Crystal called, "Ciel, let's get going."

His Poké GEAR was gripped in his hand when he turned back. He said, "Hold on. I need to make a call."

* * *

 **This one went longer than expected (I don't even know if I should expect chapter lengths anymore), and I can guarantee the next one will go long as well. Having to delay this messed up my plans some. I was timing this so the final chapter (35) released on Saturday, March 14th, which is the tenth anniversary of HeartGold and SoulSilver's North American release. Chapter 34 might be shorter than my average, so there's still a chance I could make up the difference.**

 **Landing this plane sometimes feels like a gargantuan task. I'll freely admit that I think I'm better at setting up plot points than concluding them, mostly because I heavily plan endings in advance and then have to reconcile them with emergent story elements. I'll be doing my best, as always.**

 **Ever the RWBY fan, I was super pleased with the finale of Volume 7 and the volume as a whole. It struggled some to focus on development for cast members individually because of how large the cast of the show has grown, but I was still engaged and enjoying every minute. It's making me want to write for the series more and more, but we'll see.**

 **Three Chapters Remain. Chapter 33: International Broadcast is February 21st. Let's finish this.**


	33. International Broadcast

**This story is co-developed and edited by Titan127.**

 **Disclaimer: Pokémon is a registered property of Nintendo, the Pokémon Company, and GameFreak. This work respectfully uses the world and characters of the Pokémon series, with no intent of harm on the original creators. Please support the official releases of the Pokémon franchise.**

 **Chapter 33: International Broadcast (12,080 words, length warning)**

* * *

Brent tapped the button on his Poké GEAR to end the call. The breath he held in finally escaped, but he didn't feel any better. Rockets were going to converge on Goldenrod City en masse.

Ciel had explained the situation in Mahogany, where a secret Rocket facility was discovered, and their leader was arrested. But cutting off one head wasn't enough when two, or three, or hundreds could grow right back. He wasn't going to sit by if his friends were already knee-deep in the thick of it!

He and Zuki were staying in a cabin in Cianwood leased by its absent owner. It wasn't cheap, but it sure wasn't low quality either. He bolted into the parlor to find Zuki, sitting over a shining object on the desk with the patio doors ajar to the cool night. The furniture was white wood, the walls pastel blue but warmed by the candlelight—the cabin was their own personal summer.

"We need to get to Goldenrod," he said.

She seemed to understand his anxiety immediately, but she was confused. She looked around herself. "We can be there in a couple days by boat. What's happening?"

"No, Zuki, you don't get it," he said. He pointed to the desk. To the feather. "I need to be in Goldenrod. Now. We need to summon Ho-Oh."

* * *

"Are you certain that's what you saw?" she asked, the night after the incident in Olivine. They were on the second floor of the Olivine Pokémon Center. Amphy was alive and healing downstairs, and the city was recovering from the cyclone as best it could. Every few minutes, the neon flashes of emergency vehicles would ricochet around the metal downtown into their street side window.

"I mean, yes! It's not like I was doped up or anything. It was big and had big plumes," he replied.

Zuki handled the feather like it would disintegrate into ancient ash at the slightest touch, hands cupped under it, fingers unmoving, breath hitched so as not to blow it away. She had turned down the lights in their guest room to marvel at its glow. Her family's history rested in her palms.

She struggled to say anything. Half a dozen stutters preceded actual words. "What does this mean?"

Brent could only shrug and slump to the floor, arms crossed. He saw something on the horizon that hadn't graced human eyes in centuries, and if this truly was its feather, why had it been presented to him? He was just some backwater hick, not a prophesized hero or whatever. It should have been given to Jasmine. She was the one who saved her Ampharos and risked her life in a massive storm. He kept stealing glances at the object. The full focused color spectrum starrd back.

"A true Rainbow Wing," she breathed, "And it's right in front of me."

"Rainbow _Wing?_ It's just a feather, not a whole wing," he said, which earned an unamused face. Traditional name, he guessed. No matter what he saw, there was no way he'd just found a stray Ho-Oh feather on a whim when they were supposed to be sacred gifts. "We ought to send it to a professional to check if it's some new species first. Is that Gym Leader in Violet a taxonomist?"

She spied the full moon hanging quietly through the window. Gently wrapping her fingers around the feather, she held it to her chest. "No. I'm certain this is genuine. I can feel it."

"We can't just keep it if it's so important, right?"

"Well, the place it belongs is—" She paused. When they passed through Ecruteak towards Olivine, Zuki had refused to go further into the city, deciding to stay near the outskirts and train while he collected travel supplies and food from the market. She wouldn't want to go back unless she absolutely needed to, but she said with certainty, "It belongs at the Bell Tower. It's an object of prayer."

That was the location of his promised meeting. Somehow, everything came back to Ecruteak for the three of them. He rose and slid his arm around her shoulder, joining her as she gazed at the moon.

"This is my life's work," she said. "Sometimes I doubted the legends, especially when mother was pushing me until I almost… broke. Only after I finally escaped Ecruteak, only after I decided to take my own path to honor my history, has Ho-Oh shown Himself to me. That means my dream is real. _My_ dream, not hers."

She said, "I'm going to call the morning. I'm going to summon Ho-Oh."

* * *

"Wait, Brent!" she called as she chased him out onto the beach sands. She barely had time to get ready and her ceremonial kimono was out of place. She continued trying to fasten the folds around herself within her hakama. "The records say we have to be in Ecruteak, and we need a team of five to try to summon Him."

Neither of them had shoes on. The cool grains massaged the bottoms of his feet. They finally came to a stop at the edge of the receding tide and he stared out over the water, towards the Whirl Islands and greater Johto beyond.

"We don't have time for that. Ciel needs me yesterday and the Guardian of the Skies can take me there," he said. Turning his head up, he watched the world blacken further, further, only small peaks of sunlight whispering from the mountains to the west.

Zuki pulled on his shoulder to make him face her. Her face was completely serious, not a curve to be found. "I've never tried this before. I know this is my everything, but we're missing so much."

"You know how much I need to do this."

"I know." She held out the Rainbow Wing in her palm. Legendary as it was, it threatened to blow away in the light breeze. It would be lost forever with so much as a sudden gust.

"Will you help me?" he asked.

She paused for a few seconds, and then said with a low voice, "Ho-Oh's fire will judge you. I don't want you to hurt yourself."

"You said Ho-Oh only hurts evil. I won't get hurt. Because I'm a hero." He curled her fingers around the feather and rested his atop. "Trust me."

She nodded. Keeping one hand under the Rainbow Wing, she used her free hand to pull out her hair ornaments. Brent watched in confusion. Her dark locks descended messily around her shoulders. He assumed her hair was naturally straight, though it curled at the ends from how tightly she often tied it.

She split the bell at one end of an ornament in half. It was empty, as were all the others, which is why they never seemed to make noise when she moved. Zuki located a small satchel inside a fold in her kimono, dumped out what looked like a ball bearing, and sealed it inside.

"What's that for?" he asked.

"In addition to the Kimono Girls' dance, summoning Ho-Oh requires both an offering of his own feathers and the ringing of the bells hanging around the Bell Tower," she said. "These were made from the same metal many years ago."

Taking hold of the stick, she rung it. That _chime_. He could feel as if all his physical crooks and pains were washing into the Sekido Ocean, like he was an invincible kid sprinting through the fields outside Cherrygrove again. Just as quickly as the feeling came, it vanished when she stopped. She presented both the bell and the feather to him.

"Ring these both to the heavens while I perform the dance. Just know that I can't guarantee this will work."

Brent took hold of the items and gave his smile in return, which seemed to reassure her. Her posture finally relaxed a bit. He said, "We're gonna do this! Just a little elbow grease, right? Though I guess you're doing most of the greasing."

"Never use that phrase again."

"Will do," he said.

He stood with his legs apart and held up his arms, Rainbow Wing gently clenched in his left and the ornament in his right. He started ringing the bell. The cleansing song echoed much farther than he expected and filled the space all around him.

Zuki took a deep breath and moved. It was a simple dance. She traced circles in the sand around him, moving slowly. Sometimes she stopped and twirled full rotations in place, before continuing her slow perimeter. He tried to stay focused on the bell, but his gaze was inevitably drawn to the hypnotic movement. All that he had to do was wave the bell and the feather. All he had to do.

He was going to be the hero. He didn't even care about Ho-Oh's supposed powers. It was just a big old bird and he needed its wings to fly halfway across Johto and be there for his friends and stop the Rockets. Maybe that made his request inherently selfish, wanting to use a deity like a glorified taxi. He shook the doubt away, flicked his wrist, and kept chiming like there was no tomorrow. He bet it felt a lot cooler than it looked.

Behind the mountains, the sun dipped further. By now there was no trace of daylight left and the wind was at rest. As best he could, he kept the movement up, but it had already been a few minutes and they were still ringing to an empty sky. His arm was getting tired. The chiming faded. Zuki's feet shuffling through the grains cast the only remaining sound in their hollow world.

"Brent, keep ringing," she said through her movements, panting from the continuous twirls.

"It ain't happening." His arms dropped to his sides and the Rainbow Wing nearly slipped from his soft grip. He let out a sigh. "We really do need the other Kimono Girls."

"It's not only the dancers," she said. "It's the resolve of the summoner. We are just a medium by which you speak to the heavens."

He grumbled to himself and raised his arms again. A weak ring was all he could manage before his right arm twitched with a full pain. That supposed resolve faded as the reality set in—they really couldn't summon Ho-Oh without the proper procedure. Zuki was right.

"You have everything you need. Raise your hands and your voice. Call the sunrise," she said.

Brent turned to look at her. "But you said—"

It wasn't Zuki. It was another girl, who also twirled in motion around him. And another. He realized the voice he just heard, and the one before that, belonged to them. They were more prepared, kimonos expertly tied, faces masked in ceremonial white, hair tied tightly in a cut that was undoubtedly passed through time. The ornaments of one were scarlet red, the other a sunset pink.

Brent whipped around and saw Zuki dancing within another two. Azure and golden. As much as she moved and twirled, she didn't seem to notice the quartet that had joined her. Their movements were silent on the beach and left no trail. Yet he felt their presence all the same. Brent could feel the wind pick up and almost wrestle the Rainbow Wing from his grasp.

He threw his fists up. The bell chimed louder in his hand now, rhythmically, musically, until it was the only noise audible for kilometers. He shouted, "Hear me, Ho-Oh! My friends need my help! I request an audience with the Guardian of the Skies!"

The Rainbow Wing shined that same odd glow as when he first discovered it. It expanded. The light flashed outward and consumed both he and the dancers in revolution. They and the world seemed to circle faster and faster and faster and faster around him.

A piercing cry echoed above. Brent looked straight up.

Rainbow flames struck the earth. They consumed him whole.

* * *

Ciel flashed in and out of consciousness between the massive force of wind and his exhaustion. Blood rushed around his head, slamming into the walls of his veins and struggling to supply his brain. He was on a theme park ride he never asked for. The worst part was that he knew it wasn't their top speed. After launching at maximum acceleration towards Goldenrod, Lance ordered his three monsters to throttle their flight once he realized that none of the other passengers could handle the force. How the Champion rode without so much as a flinch was a miracle.

He was securely strapped to the Dragonite via the riding gear, which was basically a full-chair saddle that strapped around his legs and torso. The International Police had provided flying clothes along with the riding gear, so he was mostly protected from the wind that thrashed against the thick folds and curved around his helmet. His mother and Crystal soared along to his left, his father and Silver to his right. Whipping his head around to check on Gold, he saw the boy holding out a fist. Ciel reached out and knocked his against it before turning back and gripping the handholds tight.

They rocketed across the Region, over mountain ranges and the rivers carving through them and the forests crawling into the valleys below, all of which were consumed by night. He could only barely make out the dark shapes of landmarks passing by. If he craned his head left, he could see a monolithic shadow splitting the clouds between Kanto and Johto. Mount Silver. The Indigo Plateau hid somewhere beyond.

His eyes flickered open, almost blinded by the riding gear's navigation lights, and he realized he must have passed out again. Ciel shook his head wildly to pump some blood back into his systems. He hoped it qualified as getting some sleep. A light-peppered landscape appeared in front of them, intensifying as they drew closer. They were approaching the Goldenrod Metro Area.

Ciel's ears popped from their dropped altitude. They closed in on the ground, buildings rushing past underneath, growing larger and larger until the three Dragonite dropped below the skyline and swerved between the city's golden framework.

Advertisements normally flashed from gargantuan LED displays through the downtown area, but as they raced through downtown, each and every display carried a bold red "R". Those searing letters infected every surface of the cityscape. A droning voice enveloped him.

 _This is the radio tower._

 _This is the radio tower._

 _We are pleased to declare Rocket's revival._

 _Giovanni, can you hear us?_

 _We've finally made it._

Even as fast as they were going, they couldn't escape the announcement. It was everywhere. Just like Ariana's order on their personal channel, it repeated in an endless loop. The Rockets had taken command.

Goldenrod's radio tower controlled a vast majority of signals across the macro-Region. Almost all free-to-air television was broadcast from it too, providing public channels for every resident, and it even used to be the Indigo League's method of international communication before the internet's invention. If the Rockets had full control of the tower's equipment, that message would be playing in every household on the continent as an emergency broadcast.

Their destination pulsed red and blue. The Dragonite brigade came in for a landing on the makeshift runway created by parting police vehicles, shaking the earth with each behemoth's landing.

Ciel stumbled out of the riding gear and the clothes—with assistance from the local police, who also helped Gold behind him to the ground—into the sensory overload of blaring sirens. Cruisers formed a perimeter around the radio tower, the beating of helicopter blades overhead driving into his skull.

Ciel's eyes were drawn to the silent tower, a rising structure with a massive black base and a central tower that terminated with the main antenna. An observation deck surrounding the tower anchored the upper portion of the building to the base via suspension cables.

Lance was already addressing an officer. Judging by the similar stripes to the one woman in Mahogany, Ciel determined he was the captain.

"Status report," demanded Lance.

"There are hundreds of Rockets inside. We didn't discover they had taken over the tower until we got your message. The doors are barred and they're using them as defensive chokepoints," the captain said. Officers all around him were rushing to and from their stations and a squad was about to approach the door. "We want to break in using aerial units, but they have personnel hostages on the upper floors, and we have orders from the city to avoid major damage to the building.

He motioned a subordinate with a megaphone, who demanded the hostages be released. The tower gave no response.

"How were they able to organize? We apprehended their major leaders," said Lance.

"Currently unconfirmed. We believe a remaining member of their top brass is still inside. An unidentified teal-haired man had worked under the Rocket's old kingpin, and we have eyewitness reports of someone matching his description moving in and out of the observation deck."

Unable to keep up with the conversation among the siren rings and endless announcement, Ciel recovered his belongings from the shared compartment on the riding gear and convened with his friends and parents to wait for further orders. He took Crystal's lead when she released her team in preparation for whatever happened next.

Four materialization beams came to life. When his team came to, they examined the situation and seemed to understand the danger, the need, and the mission. Arden stepped forward and took the lead. The Typhlosion joined the police sirens by firing at maximum, the flames around his neck curling as they rose like a pillar into the sky. The triumphant display, along with the scar stretching along his abdomen, earned stares from the police brigade and their own Pokémon.

Raven was still back in Mahogany. She was resting in a nice bed and blissfully unaware of what else had transpired since she drifted off. He had finally earned her trust back, incomplete as it may be, and it was time to put it to use. He wanted her to wake up next with her teammates crowding her bed and shouting proud that they were victorious. If she would leave them in his care, he would keep them safe even in the toughest of fights.

Crystal and Gold were conversing quietly to themselves when Ciel walked up to them. The former turned to him. Colors alternated across her face—her left was painted red, her right blue, though one half was always cast in shadow. She crossed her arms. "Brent is on his way, right?"

"He made a promise," said Ciel, "and he's the last person I'd expect to break one."

Lance finished his debriefing by Goldenrod's captain and went first, surprisingly, to Silver, who stood ready with his Feraligatr. His Haunter and Golbat probably weren't in good condition, since he was storming through the Rocket HQ alone until he met up with them. It would just be him and his partner.

"What do you know?" Ciel wondered if Lance even knew how to ask a normal question, since they always became interrogations.

The tall boy glanced at Crystal a moment and then back to the Champion. "The Rockets use old maintenance tunnels from the department store to get around the city. They probably found a way into the tower's basement."

"Did you use these tunnels yourself?"

Silver put on an indignant face and angled up at Lance, creating a standoff between the two. Crystal stepped forward to try to interrupt the situation again, but it cooled by itself when the Champion stepped back a few paces. Silver sighed. "Yeah. It's been a while, so I can't guarantee the tower is even connected down there, but it's my best guess."

"Then it's settled. Captain!" Lance shouted. "I'm taking a team to check the tunnels for a way inside while the main force enters the building on ground-level. Kori, Daku, you're ordered to stay here and assist if things escalate."

His parents saluted. Lance turned to the four young Trainers, who were joined by a squad of officers armed with Poké Balls or weapons, just like their mission in Mahogany. Arden blazed at Ciel's side. Mantis sharpened his blades against each other. Clovis perched on Hector's back, and both were ready to charge.

More beams filled the air, and he was joined by all the Pokémon owned by the Goldenrod. Their collective army let out a battle cry.

* * *

The offensive unit sprinted forward, the hundreds of thousands of tons weighing above them. Crystal kept focus on her feet so as not to be swallowed by the ten officers making up their rear flank. All their steps fell in unison and made the sound deafening, but at least they were finally out of range of the sensory disconcerting center of the police operation. She couldn't say she was pleased with taking a stealthy approach rather than punching the main doors in.

Vague panel lights guided them forward. Most of them were flickering or dead, and it was clear that the tunnel had fallen into disuse in recent years. The tiles were stained, and the walls were cracked with time. The smell spoke more years than the physical building did. They pushed forward deeper and deeper into the tunnel behind Lance and a leading Silver.

They reached a fork in the road. Silver barked to make a hard left and diverted their course. Unable to keep track of their location from that perspective, she put her faith in his navigation, even if it'd probably been years since he was down here. He came to a sudden stop.

Silver pawed around one of the walls and placed his ear to it. Beyond, the hall cast into complete darkness.

"This the place?" Ciel asked.

"Look." Silver pointed at the walls in the direction they came. Whereas each of them had cracked or splintered paneling, this section of the wall was suspiciously free of blemishes and a cleaner color. Crystal stepped back, the entourage following suit, in anticipation of what came next.

"Superpower!' shouted Silver.

His Pokémon reared back its fist and destroyed the panel. It was powerful enough to shake the entire hall. When the debris fell away, it revealed a cleaner passage with powerful lighting and a single, sad man in black whose eyes were wide with shock.

"Hey, you can't—" He was cut off when a fist slammed into his gut, dropping him to the floor.

"Stay down," Silver said. He held his wrist and flexed his fingers, staring at the downed main in disdain, then motioned for the group to move on.

"Was that necessary?" Crystal asked.

"No."

She hummed but said nothing more, stepping over the mess of a man coughing on the floor and cracking her own knuckles to make him shrink further in on himself. One officer tied the Rocket to some machinery along the wall with handcuffs. A couple others stayed behind to secure the area leading into the radio tower while the rest of their group approached quietly through the access tunnel.

They ascended a stairwell into what he assumed was the Radio Tower's basement, the door closing behind them so cleanly it blended with the basement walls. They sidled along the walls at the motion of Lance and attempted to stay soundless as possible. Surrounding them were windowless doors, most labeled with warnings such as "ELECTRICAL" or "MAINTENANCE". It was a good sign how few people they had stationed below the surface. Maybe they weren't as organized as the captain claimed. That just made their job easier.

Some voices echoed distantly through the underground, and while an officer checked an upcoming corner with a search mirror, she turned to Ciel, then to Gold. Or, just to Ciel. She shot her head around frantically until she realized he was nowhere to be found and none of the officers even seemed to notice the missing personnel. Oh no. Oh no, he _didn't_. That absolute idiot was going to screw up the operation. She should have sat his sorry rear up on street level and put a squadron of officers in a perimeter around him.

Crystal couldn't do much but signal to the Champion that someone was missing—he seemed to think it didn't matter and continued without another thought. She gritted her teeth, spared one last glance behind, and moved on.

They took the corner when the officer with the mirror gave them the all-clear. At the end of the hall was a giant freight elevator, and halfway down, a pair of giant doors sat to an unknown room. The voices were louder now. The next order was clear: prepare to breach.

Lance held up a hand and counted on his fingers. Three. Two...

They burst open, spilling into the interior, all Pokémon ready to unleash at their command and weapons raised by the non-Trainers. Inside, nearly a dozen black suits stood between large cardboard boxes brimming full of mechanical parts. The walls were dotted with handles, meaning that every centimeter opened to a drawer. It was a storage space, and in the center, a man bound to a chair and gagged was surrounded by alert criminals.

Their leading officer issued, "Put your hands in the air! You are under arrest by order of the Goldenrod Police Department and the Indigo League for acts of domestic terrorism."

A projectile shot past. In front of them, an active Kadabra's utensil glowed with psionic power. It was hard to tell anything even happened at all, as the psychic shot made no sound and left nothing but an imperceptible ripple in its wake. Crystal gasped when she realized that the Champion's ear was bleeding. Red crawled down his temple and neck.

A ring from outside the storage room gave way to thunderous footsteps. Rockets filled the halls behind them and murdered any chance they had at a discrete, uncontested invasion. Lance exhale was calm but powerful. "It's always the hard way with you people."

His cloak flared when he threw out his hand.

"Spider Web! Giga Drain!" Crystal shouted. Her arachnid Pokémon spun and expelled a burst of silk forward that blanketed the gangsters, many of whom were still in the process of releasing Pokémon. The material even cut into some of the beams and canceled the materialization, granting them some extra precious seconds.

One of the officers had a Mr. Mime. The humanoid creature put its hands forward, and with its own psychic energy, sealed away the hostage in a protective prison of light. Countless panels, nearly invisible, flipped and rotated around him.

The shining Dragonite spread its wings and shot into the room, grabbed two Rockets in its claws, and slammed them into the far wall. A wave of heat across Crystal's back and a glow in her periphery told her Ciel created a barrier to block the enemies behind. She kept her focus forward despite a thunderbolt narrowly flashing past her.

Ray's leaves released those lecherous glowing orbs that stuck themselves to Pokémon and Rocket alike. Those that the attack connected with grew sluggish, and the orbs floated softly back to their sender to boost his vitality. He recouped some of the energy he spent earlier in the hideout.

The entire police unity raged forward with their own Pokémon to clash with the attackers. She didn't recognize many of the foreign creatures, but most of them looked formidable, such as a pair of monochromatic canines with dangerous red eyes. Their low snarls sent a wave of fear through the Koffing, Zubat, and Ekans common among the Rocket ranks.

A claw raged forward and pierced the wall where she was standing a second ago. A burly, furred creature turned its sharp eyes towards her, teeth in its muzzle eager to sink into something, anything. It was mostly a brown color, but a patch of light, crescent-shaped fur scarred its chest. The Ursaring raised its claws for another strike.

She ordered Penelope—who was separated from her behind the Ursaring—to restrain the attacker with silk. It struck the back of it raised paw. The attack stalled, if only for a moment, before the sheer muscle within its fur snapped the threads and brought the claws down with greater force. She tried to get away. Crystal let out a cry, silent among the chaos, as the Pokemon cleaved into her elbow.

The splatter against the floor, then the slow drip as the stream slithered down her limp arm to her fingertips. The signals below her bicep went dim. She collapsed against a box. Penelope fired another shot, this time wrapping around the creature's head and pulling him backward.

Maron. She needed Maron. He had the power to send it straight underground where it and all the other monsters in this room belonged, but he was too exhausted to put at risk. Through her fading vision, she saw Ciel's Pidgeotto tackle a Zubat from the air and sink in its claws. One of the enemy's Raticate pounced across a box to a target unseen, as the Ursaring had managed to break free and stood in the way. She tuned out everything else until all that was left was the drip, drip, drip and the savage growl, intent to submerge the entire room in red.

One moment the Ursaring was there. The next, it was gone, as was the entire outer wall of the room. Silver's Feraligatr clenched its outstretched, scaled fist as a body came to her side. She managed to crane her head just enough to look at him.

He was shouting. She couldn't make out most of it. At one point he wrapped his hoodie around her entire left arm and tied it tight, the additional pressure circulating back to her head a bit. Another flame wall was drawn in front of them by Ciel's Typhlosion, the Trainer standing guard between them and the battle. At his command of Inferno, the Pokémon enveloped three attacking Magnemite in a burning spiral column.

Two officers came to their aid with stun guns raised, and another with medical supplies ducked behind the human barrier to help her. When he pushed Silver off, a growl escaped his throat.

"It's okay," Crystal managed to say, though she wasn't sure her words were coming out. She offered a grin. "I'm fine. I'll back you up from here."

Silver's gaze held on her, occasionally flicking to her arm, trying desperately to find some reason not to worry. When the medical officer told him again to stand guard with the other battling Trainers and officers, he still refused to tear himself away. She slowly raised a fist to his chest and punched him lightly. "Remember Azalea well?"

When he nodded, she said, "Cover me."

Silver stood and left her with the medical officer, standing beside Ciel behind the wall of fire. Their combined attacks, Flamethrower and Scald, unleashed. Fire and water, swirling together, vaporized into a fine layer of steam all around them. It floated through the room, condensing back into droplets when it brushed her skin.

While the officer nursed her arm, Crystal called out to her Pokémon amongst sounds of battle. Penelope arrived first in the safety of their bastion, displaying minor burns from navigating the flames around the room, then Ray, who sported a gash through his right leaf.

"Ray, Solar Beam," she said. Her Pokémon titled his flower face, and she continued, "I know we don't have sunlight, but you can expend your reserves. Go all out."

Her Sunflora exaggerated a nod with its whole body and turned towards the flames. His head shone. It was dim at first, but every passing second, the luminescence grew brighter. A Sneasel managed to jump through the flames and rushed towards them, but Ciel caught it in his periphery. His Typhlosion fired an Ember that put the Ice-type out immediately. He shared a glance with her past the radiating ball where her Pokémon once stood. He understood.

A few more seconds. A few more precious seconds. Ray made an affirmative, garbled sound within that miniature sun.

"Everyone, out of the way!" she shouted throughout the room. The two Trainers before her split in opposite directions, as did all the officers. For the first time, she could see the center of the room clearly. The Rockets and their Pokémon were pushed back to their one hostage by the combined might of the Goldenrod Police. The shield held around him. He was protected from the flying talons and energy beams, all of which bounced harmlessly off the psychic barriers. There was a clear lane between her and the opposite wall as if they had noticed what she was planning and put the pieces in place. She grinned.

Crystal put forward her hand in the shape of a gun. "Bang."

Ray fired.

* * *

Though she tried to keep cool, Kori had to discard her robe due to the heat. In baggy work pants and a form-fitting tee—and a spare vest, offered as vague body armor by the police department—she fought with her Pokémon at the front entrance to the tower. It was cold, yes, because it was still early January, but she could only feel fire in the atmosphere.

Onna was still kicking, though she'd have to sack the Froslass soon before she fainted on the road. She couldn't float far above the ground and her head dropped low. Daku and Twelve were beside her as their unit approached the sides of the main door. The leading officer gave a signal and his Donphan charged forward. The gray, armored quadruped tucked into a round shape, its plated ears sticking out to guide its roll, and sped forward. Applying downward force, it jumped. The creature cleared the main stairs and smashed through the glass.

"Go, go, go!" called their leader. They rushed forward into the open doorway. The forward members carried riot shields, and those Pokémon unprotected had cast Protect over themselves.

They barely made it a meter inside the door when the combined attacks of every Rocket stationed on the first floor exploded against the leading officers. Water Pulse, Flamethrower, Thunderbolt, all together. She and her husband were thrown out the doors and onto the street. She lied there.

Her own kid was down there somewhere and fighting his way up. She'd be damned if she let something like this let him go it alone. Kori slammed her knuckle into the pavement to lift herself to her feet and was the first to gain footing of the entire group. Not willing to wait for the squad to ready themselves again, she called to Onna—who was mostly unscathed due to her own Protect—and the two trudged ahead. Daku lifted a hand as she passed, and she hauled him to a stand. They read each other's eyes for a moment before moving on.

"Got a plan?" she asked.

He was bleeding from his head. She ran a finger along his hairline to wipe it away. He said, "Not one that doesn't involve property destruction."

That was their priority. Most of the Region was depending on the communication coming out of the Goldenrod Radio Tower, and they couldn't damage any broadcasting equipment and risk keeping citizens uninformed once the Rockets were cleared. Only minor damage, like with the door, was allowed unless they were in mortal danger. And that sucked.

"Regroup," groaned their assigned unit leader as he pulled himself up. He was an older man, fifties maybe. "This isn't going to work. What was the captain thinking?"

A commotion rose behind them, past the parked cruisers and the sea of flashing lights. The officers stationed at the barricade shouted in surprise. Kori turned her head back and her eyes widened.

It was a giant cannon. The cruisers were thrown awry to give the teal, legged apparatus a clear fire path to the building. Muzzle forward, it pulsed with energy, the excess heat washing over her. She was absolutely soaked in sweat. It was going to discharge despite the potential damage, despite everything they had been told, and despite the hostages in the building. She had no way to stop it from her distance.

The other officers were still trying to get to their feet and regroup. Kori screamed, "Stay down! Cover your ears!"

The guttural shout willed them to listen even though she wasn't a commanding officer. Those that managed to find their bearings slammed down again in preparation. The cannon finished its charge. She grabbed the back of her husband's shirt and yanked him to the pavement, then tried to crush her own skull between her hands.

She first heard the ringing. A heart monitor read flatline between her ears, the tone rushing forever into a void until she was sure her hearing had failed entirely. However, eventually, it faded into a dull hum that the realized was the residual sound of the blast. She tilted her head up to see the building.

Debris was strewn everywhere, much of it surrounding the incapacitated unit on the ground. A wicked chunk of metal was only a meter away from her, and other miscellaneous junk landed between the officers and even speared the sides of the barricade cruisers. Various particles continued to rain down. The entire front of the building was missing, spilling light out onto the dark, pulsing street. Any Rockets that might have opposed them were blown away or buried under the metal rubble. Some of them were dead. She knew it.

The cannon, when she finally mustered the strength to return her attention to it, had transformed into a giant. The body of the weapon was its torso, extending segmented limbs wrapped in golden rings and runes. Eerie glowing eyes stared down from atop the monolithic creature. She wouldn't have believed it was a Pokémon if not for the capsule held by the short, elderly, and absolutely _fierce_ woman standing by its right leg.

"I can't believe the entire Goldenrod Police is so incompetent. I have half a mind to fire all of you and start from scratch," she said. She was in a floral nightgown, without shoes and with her white hair in complete disarray. She held a pair of earmuffs at her hip.

Kori recognized her immediately. From years of living in Goldenrod and being involved with the Pokémon League, she could recount every member of the sitting city council by name. In fact, she'd seen the geriatric powerhouse only recently when she was assigned to direct the Goldenrod Showdown. Councilwoman Arin Ryokuna.

Once the dust settled, the captain ordered their remaining officers to form up a second unit for an assault. Avoiding property destruction was absolutely out of the question now, and they were going to take advantage of what they had. Meanwhile, Kori and her husband were recalled with the first group that had taken the brunt of the first attempt.

"Councilwoman, _what the hell are you doing?_ " asked the captain.

"Well, if your highly-trainedofficers of the law had cleaned up this mess hours ago, I wouldn't have been woken up by that awful message on my television." She up at the captain until their psychic line broke. The man couldn't stand to face her for longer than a few seconds.

"You still put the hostages in massive danger and caused damage to the building," he started, before being zipped shut by a raised finger.

"According to the live report," she said, "the hostages are on the upper floors. Their only goal is to keep the message running and they need the hostages to do so, so I'm hardly worried about casualties. No other civilians would be in the building at this hour."

And she was right. The explosion rose only to about the third floor, which according to the captain's report, were public areas and studios for daytime radio programming. All the operational staff were fourth floor and up, closer to the antenna atop the tower. That crazy woman was still taking some consideration, even if she maimed—or worse, killed—gangsters guarding the lower floors. Still, she'd have to answer to her if her son and his friends weren't safely below ground when the blast was fired.

The councilwoman strode forward with her automaton in tow. She seemed intent on ending this and had the means to do it. The captain ordered up every officer still in good condition to follow her lead, so Kori and her husband prepared for another round.

* * *

The suited man took in a massive gasp when the gag was removed, coughed for a full minute, and then leaned back into his chair to recuperate—the Champion had grown impatient waiting for him to be responsive and worked with the officers to detain the defeated Rockets. Ciel and another officer were assigned to the hostage.

Hector stood guard and scratched at the ground even though the battle had finished. When the man went into another coughing fit, Ciel busied himself rubbing the creature's horn to soothe him. The Rhyhorn had taken out multiple Rockets by knocking their shins. For once, his size came in handy; he was too short to be seen in the heat of battle.

Various unconscious bodies littered the space around them. Burns scoured across the tiling and their clothes alike. Ciel made a mental note to find a Grass-type Pokémon sometime.

When the man came to, he eyed the officers with a blank expression. He was bruised all over, shaking with every movement. He said, "T-thank you."

"We're here to help," Ciel said. "Can you stand up?"

In response, the man rose from the chair, and though he almost toppled over, Ciel kept his hands on the man's shoulders to stabilize him. He had to be pushing seventy, and it drove Ciel mad. Every flinch from the man tightened his own muscles and curled his fingers together into a fist until he was sure his knuckles were going to burst from his skin.

It wasn't only him. He kept throwing sideways glances at the officers tending to Crystal, wrapping her arm tightly and preparing to take her from the building. She was talking cheerfully, bubbly even, but she had taken a major injury to her arm and couldn't move it. Permanent nerve damage, maybe.

They had threatened his family. They had hurt his friends. The person he wanted to be wouldn't allow that, and Ciel wouldn't either.

The elderly man put a hand on his shoulder, and though at first he nearly lashed out, his muscles slowly unwound until he let out a long breath.

"You have to k-keep a level head," the man said.

"Who are you?" Ciel asked.

"I'm the director. Please save my employees. None of them deserve any of this."

Ciel ushered him away to get his injuries treated. The officer draped the elderly man's arm over his shoulder and helped lead him out of the blown-away wall. Lance was already gathering up the rest of the unit and it was clear they'd only have a couple more minutes to recuperate before continuing up the tower. Ciel rushed over to Crystal as she was being escorted away herself.

He grabbed her free hand. The medical officer supporting her gave him a deathly stare and threatened to push him away, but he wasn't content to let her go. When she saw the look on his face, she laughed, then winced from the pain in her arm.

"You don't have to be such a baby, Ciel." She tried her best to keep up a smile. She couldn't.

He couldn't firm the words. He had no idea what he could say, nor how he could make the situation any better. No matter how much she tried to play it off, she was in massive pain, and he had no idea how to confront it. Just like with Arden.

However, she didn't give him time to think about it. She said, "I'm not dying, Ciel. All you two need to do is give them hell to make me feel better. And if you find that idiot, slap him upside the head for me, would you?"

He gritted his teeth. "Right."

She and the director were escorted down the hall to the tunnels, leaving himself and Silver to travel with the remaining officers. After a quick check-up of his Pokémon—Arden was draining himself with how much fire he spewed and Clovis took a cut on his right wing, and he decided to recall the latter—he stood by the main door of the storage room and awaited orders.

The entire building shook. Silver managed to grab onto his arm and a drawer to keep them both on their feet. Was it an earthquake? They weren't uncommon around Johto, and most buildings were equipped to handle them, but a distinct thunderous sound lingered above them.

"What is going on up there? Report!" shouted Lance into a communicator he grabbed from an officer.

A few seconds before the response. "Building was damaged by an outside party. We're pushing in and drawing action from the Rockets on the surface floors. Do you have access to the main elevator yet?"

"Affirmative," said Lance.

"Take it if it's still operational. They'll be too distracted to stop you. Apprehend the leader on the observation deck and work your way down to the hostages. We have reason to believe they aren't in fatal danger."

"Roger that." Lance turned to the rest of the group and raised his voice. "Let's keep moving. We have a perfect opportunity and we're going to spear the heart."

How quickly the officers pushed to action this time terrified Ciel. When they first entered, they were cautious, yes, but now they knew how dangerous the situation really was. The threat had escalated, and the only option was to end it quickly and cleanly. As they huddled into the elevator, recalling their Pokémon for the ride, Ciel spared a glance between the officers around them. They were all stonework. Even Lance's usually boisterous presence was encased by his commitment to finishing the fight.

Silver wielded more than a blank stare. His red eyes were brimming with rage, with hate, so overflowing that he might combust. It scared him. Ciel wondered if that same trained criminal was still hiding under his skin just as Lance believed. But, studying him for a few seconds, he came to a separate conclusion. Ciel turned his head to the door, watching the number tick higher, and smiled.

What Silver wore was a good rage. Not directed at someone, but drawn from someone, with that same desire that had burned in him since he spoke to Brent in Violet, sitting on that city park bench, trying to figure out where his life was headed. Silver's flame was still a fledgling spark, but it grew hotter with every step.

The sounds of battle echoed past the walls. The elevator rumbled, and for a few moments, Ciel was sure the cord was going to snap and send them plummeting until an emergency stop kicked in. They rose through the tower's central shaft. Once they cleared the building's main floors, the shaft changed to glass. The elevator itself was also glass, granting full view of the outside. A metal framework supported exterior stairs spiraling upward outside the elevator shaft. They looked large enough to funnel a full observation deck to ground-level in case of an emergency.

Goldenrod was beautiful and revolting. The golden lights sparkled back, a replacement for the starscape hidden by the city's emissions. But hanging off a skyscraper before them, a panel blazed with the symbol of the Rockets. The message penetrated the dual panels.

 _This is the radio tower._

 _This is the radio tower._

 _We are pleased to declare Rocket's revival._

 _Giovanni, can you hear us?_

 _We've finally made it._

Beyond it, a warmth emanated. He had to squint to see it, past thousands of other lights and through the glass that warped his vision and the stairwells flying by, but it was there. Traces of orange clawed for purchase and tried to climb over the planet. The morning was coming soon.

They entered the observation deck when the door slid open at the apex of the climb. It was a wide circular room surrounded by yet more panels of glass that angled outward. However, unlike the thick, industrial material enclosing the elevator shaft, these were completely transparent, as if they didn't exist at all. They were standing on open sky.

Two people faced the edge of the room. The helicopters still hovering around the deck cast spotlights on them, revealing a man in a fine white suit—just like Ariana—and striking teal hair. Beside him stood a lowly grunt in the same uniform as all the rest.

Their unit approached and ordered a surrender. The Pokémon were released again, and it became clear quickly that the leader bravely had none of his own. When he turned to face them, he didn't appear distressed, or fearful, or anxious, his arms curled calmly behind his back. It only tightened the atmosphere. What if he had a firearm?

"I commend you for making it through our defenses, though you were messier than most would appreciate," he said.

"You're one of Giovanni's old lackeys, aren't you?" asked Lance, once again leading the interrogation. Silver held back this time around. However, a flash of recognition crossed his face.

"My codename is Archer. Once, I was his number two. All of this," the man motioned with his hands, "was for him. Every waking moment, I live in service to that man."

"Why didn't he make you the new leader?"

Archer put a hand to his chin, index knuckle above and thumb below, thinking on that question for a few moments. His answer was a chuckle. "Giovanni always had a soft spot for her. I am no more than a follower. If he wished to shoulder his empire on her, it was not my place to argue."

"Your little stunt at the Indigo Plateau hurt my daughter. I hope it was worth that empire of yours." Lance's Dragonite bared its teeth at his side. The creature could launch from a standing position at blinding speeds and tear the man apart in seconds. All he had was a single grunt to protect him.

"Perhaps it was. Perhaps it wasn't. That choice falls on Ariana," said Archer. He didn't show any sign of intimidation.

Even Archer was fighting for those he believed in. If that was the case, there was a point at which even a man like this would stop fighting. Ciel took that chance and spoke up.

"She made her choice, sir." He made his words clear, and despite the vague humming of helicopter blades and tremors from the battle below, it struck home.

Archer cocked his head at him. He was an experienced gangster who had undoubtedly crossed lines most wouldn't dare tread, never to return, and his stare threatened to implode Ciel's heart. Arden fired hotter on reflex. The warmth at his back gave him the courage he needed.

"The three of us," he said, motioning to Lance and Silver, "we were there. She laid everything on the table and disbanded the Rockets."

"And why should I believe you, child?"

"Would you believe hers?" Ciel asked.

Archer's gaze landed on Silver and studied him for a moment. The red-haired boy didn't need to talk. He spoke with his stance alone.

"It's done, Archer," Lance boomed. "Just come with us. We don't need to escalate this any further."

Lance's communicator chimed, and when he hit the button, it blasted with too much background noise, but a strained voice was evident in the center. An officer shouted, "They abandoned the hostages! The remainder of the force is headed up the emergency stairwells around the central elevator!"

Archer, meanwhile, smirked. He turned his back to them to stare out the window just as the doors around the central elevator shaft swung open. Rockets poured out, ten, twenty, thirty, fifty, eighty, a hundred, a hundred fifty. No one dared attack until the leaders gave their orders, but they were clearly outnumbered over ten to one. Black suits encircled them, that insignia on their chests glowing as bright as the panel outside.

"He was stalling," said Lance.

"A very astute observation." Archer's smug expression only intensified as the group was forced together, completely enclosed by criminals with capsules at the ready. Some had metal pipes, a few others seem to have looted electroshock weapons off officers. "Your officers down there guessed correctly that I do not care about the radio operators, as we already accomplished our mission. Everyone in Johto and beyond has already heard the call."

He let out a splitting, howling laughter. Archer had won, and not even with the Champion on their side could they defeat a force this size without threatening the collapse of the building, all of them stuck inside. The perimeter had left a small gap to which they could see Archer, the man obviously confident enough in his own safety to risk it. "Let us leave. That's your final choice."

As squad officer spoke up, "What's the plan, sir?"

Lance looked conflicted. He still looked like he wanted to stride forward and throw Archer out the window to the pavement below. After a few long glances among the squad, his shoulders relaxed. He wasn't going to sacrifice the wellbeing of everyone here against such odds. He ordered everyone to recall their Pokémon.

Silver wasn't going to give up his rage just like that, and it would kill him to know that the Rockets won. He refused to return his Feraligatr to its Poké Ball, even as Ciel withdrew his own.

"Sir, look over there!" shouted one of the Rocket grunts. It was the lone grunt that stood beside him when they rode up. He pointed at an odd light through the window.

Archer turned sharply to the upcoming disturbance. The grunt already let his fist fly. The force of Archer's movement amplified the sickening impact when the punch slammed home. Something cracked. The head Rocket was knocked to the floor, pooling blood from his crooked, broken nose.

The room was speechless. Archer writhed in pain on the floor of the observation deck, unable to process what had just hit him. The grunt took hold of the brim of his cap and tossed it in the air. He had somehow hidden his entire baseball cap underneath. Gold leveled a dumb, goofy smile in the face of over a hundred Rockets, having just socked their leader on the nose.

From outside, the warm morning had arrived. No, it was something even brighter, and strangely on the west side of the city. Even though Gold had only pointed to it as a distraction, something _was_ coming. That morning light engulfed the radio tower and painted the panels a pure white.

The entire tower went up in flames.

All around him, the observation deck suddenly combusted. A vibrant inferno was birthed from nothing. The color of the flames was indescribable—not red, or orange, or blue, or anything he might expect, but a veritable rainbow. They coated the entire floor and even rose around his feet, and he shouted in pain as he tried to escape.

The perimeter of Rockets fell. As a collective they screamed and burned in the rainbow fire, collapsing to the ground one by one. They couldn't fight. Together they fell to the same level as their would-be leader, clothes burning with brilliant wisps.

He sprinted towards the elevator. The fire encompassed him. The flames licked up his pants and chest, lashing at his arms, consuming him whole. The entire unit raced backwards to escape the inferno.

Ciel's footsteps slowed to a stop. He was standing within the fire completely, but he examined his shaking arms. There were no burns. There was no heat. There was no pain. It felt like he was sitting in the sunrise, watching the sun float higher, slowly warding away the cold with a blanket from above. The longer he stood in the flames, the more he felt alive. He was revitalized.

The rest of his unit soon realized the flames' truth. Some of them did reel back in pain for a few moments, burning their fingers and arms, but eventually the flames ceased affecting them. Gold grinned in the fire, completely impervious. Silver stood in a sleeveless tank, having given up his bloody hoodie to Crystal, and Ciel watched a singular burn race up his bare left arm towards his heart. Though he winced, Silver refused to break, and it suddenly stopped at his shoulder.

Only the Ciel, Silver, Lance, Gold, and the officers remained standing among the hundreds of unconscious figures. Ciel couldn't make sense of what just happened. They were saved. He kept his eyes on the window where the light had come from, noticing the shine disappearing. It receded until it highlighted a flying creature. He couldn't make out what it was, as its features weren't visible within the white silhouette. Two figures stood atop, bathed but not consumed in the morning.

He stepped through the flames. They vanished around him. The observation deck quickly cleared of that purifying light as it vanished into the unknown. As he passed Gold, standing near the edge, he slapped his hand across the boy's head. Gold shouted. He paid it no mind and approached the window.

Ciel knew he'd come. He wouldn't break that promise. They stared down at him from their hovering mount. Ciel and Brent met each other for the first time in forever, eyes locked through the glass.

He had so much he wanted to say to him. The few words he got out were lost when they hit the glass. Brent shook his head and spoke with only his eyes.

It could wait. They still had a meeting someday soon.

Zuki stood close beside him and offered Ciel a wave. A big smile on his face, Brent brought two fingers to his forehead. Ever slowly, they floated away from the Radio Tower, and in a burst of light, they were gone.

* * *

Ciel, Silver, and Gold emerged from the blasted front of the Goldenrod Radio Tower. Lance hung back, letting them meet the police brigade with stiff spines. The sun was at just the right angle over the skyline to blind Ciel as it ricocheted off the waylaid cruisers. One of them was completely totaled in a pile of fiberglass, and the walk up to the building was cratered with footsteps, though whatever caused them was long gone.

That morning sun was warm. Even in January, he felt a cozy feeling embrace him. He held a hand to his heart for a few seconds just to make sure it was slowing down, and then let out a sigh.

"Did you guys _see_ that? I totally punched a mafia dude right in his face! A primo mafioso! Man, that was so cool! I'm gonna tell that story in every bar in Johto." Gold's mouth was running at a mile a minute and had been continuously since Archer and his goons were declared defeated. His hands, balled into fists, shook vigorously close to his chest.

"Yeah, whatever," mumbled Silver.

"Come on. Just because you do action movie stunts doesn't mean you can't be impressed when someone else does it. I'm gonna be the next Brycen Man," he said.

"What the hell is Brycen Man?"

A tired cheer escaped among the ranks of the police when the hostages were escorted from the building behind them. As jubilant as Ciel wanted to be, he had to admit he was about to pass out. He hadn't slept in almost twenty-four hours, and most of that was constant exercise and life-threatening circumstances. It was the longest day of his life thus far. But those flames had given him a little something to keep going

His mother tackled him. Any extra life he was granted by the fire was quickly drained out by her grip on his chest. He couldn't breathe. He was dying. Right before before he saw the light, his father tapped her shoulder to release him and Ciel bent over coughing, taking in as many deep breaths as possible.

"Don't kill him, please," his father said. When he finally recovered, the man pulled him into a much gentler embrace. Though he hesitated for a few moments, Ciel wrapped his arms around his father and held peacefully.

"I'm so glad you're okay, Ciel. You're an absolute dumbass, why did I let you go through with this?" she asked herself.

Ciel kept moving, dragging his parents with him as he searched through the crowd of officers and detained Rockets. People constantly crossed his path, bumping him and running him down, until he thought he would be permanently lost in the maze. The officers had set up a barrier to keep civilians away from the area of operation. The area beyond the bounds was empty when they arrived, but now that the sun was rising, people were gathering to see what had transpired. That message had finally ceased across the city and the advertising panels on the surrounding buildings resumed their regular programming.

Multiple ambulances flashed their silent siren lights and Ciel figured that was where he was headed. He cut through the crowd of officers, saying "pardon me" twice a second until he finally caught sight of her. Crystal sat on the edge of the vehicle as it prepared to leave for the nearest hospital. She didn't seem hurried, which he took as a good sign.

Before he could get a word in, Gold rushed past him. The boy wrapped himself around her, disrupting the medical technician trying to prepare her for transport, but he ultimately let him have the moment.

"Where the hell were you, you idiot?" Of course, that was her first response. He expected nothing less. She shouted at him and cursed his stupidity, before turning to Ciel. "Did you slap him?"

"As ordered," he said.

She was fuming, but she couldn't keep it up. For once, Gold wasn't saying anything, just letting that moment sink in for them both, and he refused to let go. He hadn't been there when she was injured, so this must have been the first he knew about it. Crystal weakly patted him on the back with her other arm.

"That weird light, was it him?" she asked over Gold's shoulder.

"He got here just in time. Somehow it knocked out everyone on the observation deck except us," he said.

"Well, if you see him, tell him to pick up the pace next time. We could have opened with that." The paramedic finished prepping her and finally pried Gold away. When they loaded her into the back of the ambulance, he jumped through the open doors and refused to budge. After a few more attempts to kick him off, they gave in and cleared him to be transported with her.

"Hold a moment," said Lance.

Everyone stood at attention before the Champion. Even the paramedics stiffened in respect. His mere presence paralyzed everyone in the surrounding area. He laughed and waved them off. Ciel let his shoulders relax. He couldn't keep tensing like that. It'd snap his muscle fibers from the stress.

"Now, I don't know what they tell you up on the Plateau, but that was the most unorthodox police operation I have ever been part of," said the police captain trailing behind him. Every time he tried to step in front of the man, he was thrown aside and left scrambling. He shouted louder. "This is completely—"

Lance cut him off. "We can leave the logistics—and the damages—for when I give my official report. None of the hostages were injured and that's what matters."

He shoved the captain away and told him to clean up, then returned his gaze to the Trainers. No one had any clue how to respond as the Champion eyed them. He said nothing himself. Then, he bowed. It was exactly the same motion his son had done at the tournament, where his torso was completely perpendicular to his legs. It was the most awkward and most genuine expression Ciel had ever seen.

"I feel I should formally apologize for forcing all of you into this," said Lance. He rose back up to his full height. "Police Pokémon may be trained to handle general situations, but with numbers like this, nothing can match the raw power of Pokémon trained for battle. It goes to show how important we can be."

His parents didn't respond. He knew they were tied to their duty as Pokémon League employees. But him? He shook his head. "Even if you hadn't asked, I would have offered to help. It's what my friends would do, and it's what I should do."

The man didn't bring up the strange occurrence atop the tower. He hadn't been phased by the flames initially, and now he brushed off the life-saving event. Ciel figured it didn't matter too much in the long run, especially since no one had clearly seen what it was that ended the fight.

"You've still got one wish. So does baseball cap back there," said Lance. His arms disappeared under his cloak when he crossed them behind his back.

Gold cupped his hands over his mouth and shouted from the ambulance, "I want to fight you, Champion man! I'll kick your butt!"

"That could be arranged, but I wouldn't recommend it," he called back, before eyeing Ciel. "What will it be?"

"I'd have to think about it, sir," said Ciel.

"Fair enough. Now, as for the young lady's wish…" He stepped off to the side and stood before Silver, who was still the only person among them who could attempt to rival the Champion's stature. His passive regard for the former thief contrasted that almost murderous look just hours prior. Lance stood like a statue; his musings hid behind his impenetrable aura.

"I called Professor Elm a few minutes ago. He was barely awake and couldn't stop stuttering, and I think he fainted halfway in, but he is comfortably aware you now own his Pokémon. Is that correct?" the Champion asked.

Silver hesitated a moment, and then said, "Crystal talked him into it."

"Are you a worthy holder of that Pokémon?"

Silver's first response was to seek Crystal's opinion. Struggling, she sat up once again, and nodded firmly. Silver turned back to the Champion. "I will be."

The man brought his hands together in a thunderous clap. It shocked everyone in the immediate area further. Lance had nothing more to say. He left Silver to his own devices and gathered up the Goldenrod Police to finish their operation. They were still recovering unconscious Rockets from the tower, and just like the operation at the underground complex, it would probably be a few hours before they had it cleaned up.

Silver was free. He finally took a step forward and joined Gold and Crystal in the ambulance to accompany them. The Poké Ball containing his Feraligatr was clutched tightly in his hand and he wouldn't let go.

Ciel waved them goodbye. Just as the door closed, Crystal said, "See you around, Ciel."

The vehicle sped off into the city, leaving Ciel and his parents by the wayside. His mother stretched her arm across his back, hand on his bicep furthest from her, and pulled him tight. His father stood behind and urged them both forward.

They escaped the civilian blockade out onto the streets of Goldenrod. They faced towards rising sun that reached between the gaps in the metroplex. Very few people were out. The Fauder family enjoyed a pleasant stroll through the streets of their once-home, keeping it all to themselves. He didn't even know where they were going, but it took him a while to finally ask.

"I guess we should head to the train station. I doubt Lance is free to ferry us back to Mahogany, and we can't miss Laina's day," said his father.

"I'm probably going to pass out on the way," Ciel replied.

"I hope she didn't find the cake yet," said his mother. "I buried it behind other food in the fridge, but she'll probably sniff it out when she gets bored."

Ciel didn't care if the cake was gone by the time they got back. He was just looking forward to that smile, face smeared with icing.

* * *

Brent felt the soft wind ruffle his hair. It was a gentle breeze that sent shivers down his spine as it brought him to life, fighting against the warmth of the sun right in front of him. The sky's blue brightened as it stretched to that single point over the horizon. A firm cloud layer provided only tiny glimpses to the below world that disappeared quickly.

It wasn't how he imagined free flying would be like, but boy was it pleasant! By all scientific account, the wind should have sent him plummeting to his death and he shouldn't have been able to breathe, but then he remembered what he was riding on. Brent wanted to sit back and nap. Maybe the Guardian of the Skies would take offense to that.

The bed of feathers they sat on had that same, imperceptible everything color of the Rainbow Wing. The creature's neck extended forward into its proud crest. Its body remained perfectly stable with each flap of its wings, enough to allow Zuki to sit on her knees without fear of falling.

"Has it dawned on you yet?" she asked.

"Hmm?"

"I think you're finally that hero you wanted to be."

Brent considered her words. A couple thoughts whispered from the dark pit, but he forced on his smile again and they were silenced. He kept staring straight into the sun—once again, it should have been impossible, but on the back of the legendary Ho-Oh, common sense no longer applied.

No matter how beautiful it was, everyone had to look at the sun with sideways glances and skirt around its majesty. Being able to meet it face-forward was a greater prize than anything else.

Zuki took hold of his hand, the one on his once-broken arm, that still held the summoning artifacts. She opted not to tie her hair back up and let it trail behind her in the gentle sky. She asked, "Where are we going? Someplace special?"

"Nah. Nowhere special. There's just someone I haven't seen in a while and I wanted to drop by for a visit," he said.

He had no idea their true speed, but the Johto region raced underneath them in the blink of an eye. The forests cleared beneath them to make way for coast, and for a short while, they soared over water. That bay closed soon after and the tree cover shifted its color. He learned when he was young that they planted multiple varieties with different blooming seasons so that Cherrygrove could flower year-round. The pink ocean told him he'd found his home.

Brent tapped his finger to alert Ho-Oh that he wanted to dive. Though he hadn't conveyed their exact destination, the Guardian of the Skies seemed to know exactly where his heart was taking him. They plummeted like a calm meteor, and as the ground rushed up to them, he vanished in a burst of light.

They were on the ground now, the transition instant. After checking a few moments to make sure his bones weren't broken and pinching himself a bit to confirm that it somehow wasn't a surreal dream, he pulled Zuki by the hand.

In front of them was a simple house. A single story, layered with off-white siding and those classic red shingles, surrounded by acres of farmland and those fine pink groves. Brent and Zuki walked up the dirt path.

A woman was standing on the porch. As always, she looked tired, but her face was brighter since the last time he saw her, even if it was sporting a few more wrinkles. Her soft brown hair hadn't faded with time. She covered her mouth with her hand in surprise.

Brent smiled. "Hey there, Mom."

* * *

 **And so, the Rocket Syndicate is defeated. It feels like a lot has happened since I posted the last chapter. Outside work kept me from making good progress on this for a while, leading to what was regrettably the longest wait between chapters since Chapter 5. The coronavirus outbreak is ultimately what gave me enough free time to finish this.**

 **I was looking forward to this one for a while. This concludes the major conflict with the Rockets, gives some great character moments, and just feels like a big finale in many ways. It should be noted that there is a _lot_ of creative liberty when it comes to police procedure here, mostly to save time, as this chapter is massive already.**

 **I did miss my original planned finish date of March 14th, but that's okay. Happy late birthday to HeartGold and SoulSilver in North America.**

 **The final two chapters are essentially the epilogue. We've still got one Gym Battle to go, as well as that promised meeting. Stick around to April 3rd for Chapter 34: To the Light. Thanks for reading.**


	34. To the Light

**This story is co-developed and edited by Titan127.**

 **Disclaimer: Pokémon is a registered property of Nintendo, the Pokémon Company, and GameFreak. This work respectfully uses the world and characters of the Pokémon series, with no intent of harm on the original creators. Please support the official releases of the Pokémon franchise.**

 **Chapter 34: To the Light (8,248 words)**

* * *

"Anything I want, huh? Sounds like a pretty sweet deal."

So high in the mountains, on an afternoon in late January, Ciel stepped past the final threshold into Blackthorn, the location of the last Gym in Johto's Gym Challenge. He rested his front foot on a raised rock and stared into the valley below. The village was shaped like a jagged claw, as if a primordial giant had once torn into the mountainside—from that disaster sprung a life of thatched dwellings, so quiet and still as if no time had passed since the mark was created.

Even with so much time on his hands, Ciel couldn't process what had happened. In the heat of the moment, he'd joined a crusade that toppled a criminal empire. An empire that had stood for decades. The version of him from his first day in Mahogany, when he was still floundering in his own head about what being a Trainer meant, wouldn't have been able to fathom the lifetime between now and then. The answer seemed so easy to the current him. A Trainer is a guardian with the power to protect everyone's smiles.

He chuckled to himself. He'd complained, whined even, to Brent about not being able to throw himself into the unknown. Yet when he spoke for himself, even against his mother's wishes, to face the Rockets head on, for a single moment he felt like that hero he looked up to. It was all so fast and crazy.

Raven hopped onto the rock and dropped to a lay. Ciel placed his hand on the surface, feeling the sun's warmth despite the chill in the air. His partner pointed one open eye into the valley below. She was resting, but only in anticipation of what was to come.

"How about you, Raven? Anything you'd want?" he asked.

A low purr escaped her, which could have meant anything. He ran his fingers across her back. "What about a vacation? We could go stay at some resort somewhere and relax a while."

This time, she answered with a shuddering growl. He nodded. She wasn't one to sit on her laurels and let time tick away, which was curious for a Pokémon with such an abnormally long lifespan. It was over a hundred years on average, even longer depending on how much time she spent in stasis. No matter her reason, they had that in common. They both wanted to keep moving.

Slipping off his backpack, he retrieved his copy of _The Eighteen Types: Advanced Biology._ He'd used some of his recent battle winnings to replace his lost novice edition. Flipping through it, he came to the section about the Dragon Type, suspiciously the thinnest section of the book, smaller than even the recent Fairy type or those two theorized types in the back.

"Dragon is pretty strong," Ciel said, scanning through the book. He'd read it cover-to-cover already. Twice. Still, he wanted to keep his facts straight. He tapped his finger against his temple. "Not many biological weaknesses, and most Dragon-types are just powerhouses in general. Mantis and Hector are probably our best bet, and Arden's a no-go. Dragon resists Fire."

As he read, he started making headway down into the valley, occasionally glancing over the book to keep an eye on his steps. Raven followed close behind and brushed his legs.

"I read online that it's three-on-three, so that that leaves either you or Clovis. You're better for direct damage, but if we're expecting dangerous attacks, his mobility might be more strategic. Hit and run tactics, that kind of thing. Yeah. I'll go with Clovis," he decided.

A bad choice. While his eyes were on the page, he felt Raven sweep out one of her forelegs. It caught his ankle, he tripped, and though he almost corrected himself, his other foot met a hidden rock. Ciel went tumbling down the hillside with a yelp, followed by successive grunts and cries as he slammed into other stones. He tried his best to reel in his somersaulting descent. Scraping his hands along the ground, he grabbed hold and righted himself back to his feet, but there was too much momentum going in. With one final flip, he landed squarely on his back, covered head-to-toe in dust and dirt.

Ciel stared skyward, where the sun retreated behind overlapping wisps of clouds. He coughed. "Okay, message received. Very funny."

Raven hovered over him in a devious hunch. She couldn't laugh at him, but her eyes angled downward to express her superiority. He lifted a finger and tapped her on the nose, which made the Pokémon twist her head away just to let him know she was aloof, independent, and not-at-all affectionate.

"If you're so eager to battle, then fine, you big baby," he said as he stood and brushed himself off. "But I'm pulling you out if things get dicey. You're the most at risk in a battle like this."

They continued into the village. It may have even been smaller than Mahogany, and that was a milestone. Ciel marveled at the earthen dwellings dotting the valley. They didn't look durable, made of ash and soil and branches and leaves, but their position nestled between the mountains was a natural stronghold that allowed their simple life to flourish.

An elderly woman with a soft smile waved to the partners as they walked through town. She wore a swallowing, patterned shawl and navy clothing underneath trimmed orange in a familiar design. He approached to ask her for directions to the Gym.

She threw at him unfamiliar words in an unfamiliar language, leaving him mystified. She was certainly verbose. After an awkward pause, and reading his hesitation, she spoke again in that strange tongue with more enunciation. He asked in Johtoan if they could try that instead. Thankfully, she could manage a few broken words, and she pointed in a vague direction across the village.

The dwellings seemed to be strangely empty. While there were a few residents around town, it was mostly young kids—two boys that chased each other across his path couldn't have been older than five—or those as old as the first woman. He and Raven stepped through rising stones lying about the soil. They were as tall as him, and at first he thought they were uneroded elements of the valley. However, when he leaned close to one, he noticed they were unnaturally smooth, like crystals. What their relative placement meant was unknown, though he tried to sketch a rough estimate of an aerial view in his notebook. It was only a minor distraction as he neared the edge of this glimpse of civilization.

The Blackthorn Gym peeked over the water's edge at a lake north of town. It was the most modern building in the village, towering over the small huts, its sharp, contemporary edges invading a haven of time. However, its exterior was in worse condition than any of the other Johto Gyms, Chuck's included.

Ciel made tracks to the door. Brent would be in Cianwood and challenging Chuck for his final Gym Badge, since he'd already gone east to Mahogany and Blackthorn. This last challenge would signal the end of the Johto Gym Challenge for them both. Where they chose to go from there was an infinite possibility.

He pushed open the doors to the Blackthorn Gym and was overcome by boiling air. The cooling winter was cut off by the doors slamming shut behind him, leaving him suffocating and itching and drying up under the sudden temperature. He could feel his own strained heartbeat through his jacket. This was a Dragon-type Gym, right?

The building extended in front of him a long way. He and his partner were on a stonework platform, fenced off by a spiked railing, opening to a bridge that appeared to connect the far end of the chamber. All around them, an odd red light clawed its way from below, but he wasn't close enough to the edge to see what was casting it.

"You holding up back there?" he shot to his partner.

She was already panting, trying desperately to vent the excess heat trapped under her layers of fur. When he offered her Poké Ball, she bared her teeth and trudged forward.

"Remember, this is just to psych us out. We aren't in danger until we tell ourselves we are," said Ciel. She grunted and continued walking, kicking a leg up to itch her hide every few steps.

"Who says?" asked a person ahead. Standing in full regalia was the Gym Leader. She wore a skintight, spandex-like blue ensemble that he could only describe as a costume. A similar cloak to Lance fell around her shoulders and circular bands hugged her wrists and calves. Somehow, even hugged tightly by that getup, she barely faltered under the heat.

He'd caught glimpses of her at the Showdown and had seen her before on television. Aside from how skilled she supposedly was, his only other frame of reference was that his mother was _not_ fond of her.

"Are you Clair?" he asked.

"What's it to you? If you're here to challenge, I suggest you turn back. You don't look like much," she said. He waded through the heat until he could meet her face-to-face, where she stared at him in distaste. Her hair was an almost identical color to her clothing.

She had been speaking with an aide—clad in a two-piece bathing suit, surprisingly the most sensible clothing of the three of them—when he walked inside. She stepped back to make way for their conversation.

Rather than answer her taunt, he flashed his Badge case and the seven symbols inside. Clair eyed them for a few seconds.

"Whatever. You can take your best shot, if you—" She flowered with surprise. "Wait, you're the Mahogany kid. You fought Whitney!"

She exploded in laughter, bending backwards and almost tipping over. Her continued howling echoed on the chamber walls. Ciel put up a finger to speak only for the woman to suck in a breath and burst into even more whooping shrieks. He looked to the aide for help, but the woman only had an apologetic shrug to offer. conversation.

When Clair's senses finally returned to her, she looked up at him, still bent over and supporting her torso with her hands on her thighs. A hiccup escaped her. "Sorry, sorry. Seeing Whitney get whipped like that is priceless entertainment. Thanks for that, kid."

"If you're really looking to battle, you won't win." She returned to proper posture and cracked her neck into place. Every single grin, every flick of her eyelashes, it was all tailored to get a rise out of him. "I'm related to the Champion, that should tell you everything you need to know. Let that be your final warning."

Raven brandished her blade at the woman and sounded a savage growl. The eye roll in response only made his partner angrier.

"I'll take my chances," said Ciel. He was starting to understand where his mother was coming from.

With a flip of her cloak, she motioned for him to follow and led him across the stone bridge, and the aide followed behind them to act as a referee. He kept side-glancing, the red tint creeping into his periphery from every angle. Moisture slipped down from his forehead to his cheek to his chin. His energy sapped with every step.

The railing on the bridge stopped but they continued beyond, where the flooring transformed from stonework to a fine black granite. She threw out a hand that halted him in his tracks.

A rumbling stirred beneath them. Whipping his head around, he watched the sections of the bridge before and beyond the granite retract, the aide standing on the retreating piece behind Clair. He finally got a good look over the edge. A bubbling, viscous pool surrounded them, burning red with heat, and to make things worse, the unsteady granite platform wasn't just shaking. It was sinking.

"Well, kid, if you're so tough, let's see you beat me before this platform reaches the bottom. I'm sure you don't want to find out what happens if it does," said the Gym Leader, wearing her arrogance on her sleeve. She stacked everything in her favor. A time limit in which she won by default, stifling heat that barely touched her, and the home-field advantage.

Raven took position immediately and faced the Gym Leader with silent contempt. Ciel took just a few moments to orient himself. He wasn't going to let it get to him, and even as he felt the platform slipping slowly beneath him, the timer already ticking, he closed his eyes and drew in a breath. That spare moment wasn't wasted. He calmly regarded Clair when he returned to life. Ciel grabbed his jacket and flung it behind himself, where it soared gently to rest on the retracted bridge.

"I'm ready," he said. Raven growled in agreement. A red flash revealed Clair's first Pokémon, and without missing a beat, the aide declared the battle to begin using her green flag.

Raven launched forward without command, intent on stealing the first strike. She hopped effortlessly across the marble and lunged for the attack. The materializing Pokémon raised a giant object towards them, and when the swung sickle connected, a piercing clang cut through his ears

The creature faced backwards, presenting its plated shell, and craned it's long neck over its shoulder to keep its attention on the battle. Raven's blade was wedged between the protruding spikes. Bright yellow and red painted its body, though by focusing his eyes, Ciel could see sickly grey where its underbelly poked out.

"Pentolite, Incinerate!" The peeking head's circular snout came alight with fire. An explosive blast discharged overhead.

"Keep your head down!" he shouted.

Raven barely managed to wrestle her weapon free and dropped down to let the flames pass. They whirled around the arena, splattering in liquid, burning pools around the platform. Raven hopped between them to return to her side of the field. Though she could dodge the flaming spots with her mind focused, Clair would no doubt try to make them slip up.

Whatever the creature was, it was Fire-type, and probably Dragon too, the former canceling most of Dragon's weaknesses and countering its one resistance. Was Pentolite a nickname or the species itself? Didn't matter. Mantis was out for now until they figured out how to put this thing down. The smart move was to switch to Hector—Rock resisted Fire, if he remembered correctly—but they couldn't take advantage of most of his moves on the granite platform. Unlike Jasmine's Gym, the arena wouldn't resettle if it was destroyed, and that'd be bad for both parties.

"Approach and wait for my order," he said. She stalked forward, shaking from the heat. and Clair regarded him patiently. Her obvious strategy was to stall behind such a defensive Pokémon. The Gym Leader expected her opponents to forfeit when the heat overcame them, or the platform fell low enough to scare them. His waist was already on the same level as the bridge.

His partner dropped lower to the ground as she closed in. Her opponent merely puffed smoke from its snout in anticipation and made no effort to dodge. With that heavy shell, it was probably mostly immobile. Ciel shouted, "Now! Night Slash!"

She leapt at the opponent. Clair wasn't shaken. "Incinerate down!"

"Detect!" he countered.

Fire ruptured from the creature's head, but by the time it launched, Raven had vanished into her own afterimage. The creature turned its head around, where the Absol was already swinging her blade. It fazed through its neck in a clear swipe—the Dark-type attack dealing no physical damage but exhausting the creature—and it let loose another blast in response. Raven vaulted over its head to dodge again, delivering another strike between its head and shell, and landed back in her original position.

When Raven touched the surface, the ground beneath her swelled. Ciel's eyes went wide. He hadn't noticed, but the second Incinerate blanketed most of the space between Clair's Pokémon and himself in that viscous liquid, and Raven had absentmindedly landed right amidst it. The Gym Leader had planned on turning their fighting space hostile. He hadn't been paying attention, himself too focused on landing the next hit.

The goo exploded. Propelled backwards by the blast, Raven slid to his feet. She absorbed too much force from the explosion and could barely stand, plus she was already drained from the oppressive atmosphere.

He'd intended his partner to be the scout this battle. She could evade attacks easily and feel out what an opponent was capable of. Even though Raven had taken more damage than they expected, her short exchange was informative. He was writing a mental notebook. The unknown Pokémon couldn't easily move, preferring to hide behind its shell, could only attack at range with its snout, and used some kind of explosive mucous with reckless abandon.

After examining Raven, whose struggles prompted the referee to ready her yellow flag, he said, "I declare my Absol unable to battle. I'll use my next Pokémon."

The flag flew to halt the battle while he handled both her Poke Ball and Hector's. Raven conceded to her capsule as there wasn't an easy way to clear her from the isolated battlefield.

"I told you. You're not gonna beat me, kid," said the woman. "I'm the best Gym Leader in the Region and probably beyond."

A thought came to him while a materialization beam built the new arrival. "I'm not sure that's right. As far as I'm aware, Jasmine beats you in ranking _and_ win percentage. So does Falkner."

For once, the heat struck her, but it wasn't from the Gym—it was her own. A gnarl rose from her throat, stopped by her clenched teeth, but she had nothing to retort. Instead, she called her next attack with extra fervor, not even waiting for her opponent to fully materialize. "Flamethrower!"

The referee quickly flew the green. Hector's body came to be, and he rose from unconsciousness just in time to turn on his heels and absorb the column of fire with his side plating. His typing allowed him to weather it without so much as a flinch, and the diminutive Rhyhorn prepared to charge his opponent, scraping his front claws on the granite.

"Use Shell Trap, Pentolite."

Her creature craned its head down and spit up the flaming substance onto itself. The incendiary fluid slipped between the spikes until it coated the entirety of its armored shell. The Gym Leader put out two fingers and moved them in a "bring it on" motion.

He ordered Hector to charge full speed ahead. The Rhyhorn was more than happy to oblige.

"Any contact is going to set off the detonation!" shouted Clair as Hector tracked towards her. "You can't beat me without a plan!"

She was really getting riled up, especially after letting his comment stew. If she assumed he had no plan, the execution would be all the more surprising.

"Short hop and Bulldoze!" Ciel ordered.

Mid-charge, Hector pushed off his back legs and jumped in a clean arch. Ciel dropped to a knee and placed a hand on the platform to stabilize himself. The weight brought down by the leap rattled the platform, making it sink further into the mysterious substance around them, burning up the time they had left. It threw the creature off balance, and with the weight of its shell on its front, it almost tipped over.

"Use Dragon Pulse and stop that thing!" Clair's realization cast over her face. Now she was sweating, her own heat about to consume her.

"Do it again!" Ciel said.

Her Pokémon fired a violet ray from its snout, but Hector was already in the air. Clair was irritated enough that she forgot to lead her shot, and the Rhyhorn passed clear over the ringed stream of draconic energy. Ciel felt a smile creep onto his face. He slammed down with enough force to sink Ciel's head below the bridge, but the rumbling finally tipped the opponent clean over. Once its massive shield hit the ground, it bulged, glowing molten hot. It exploded.

Its body protected through the shell, the creature blasted sky high, screaming and croaking, in a trail of smoke.

A beam leapt from Hector's Poké Ball and the Rhyhorn vanished from the battlefield. Ciel performed a quick switch and tossed his third Poké Ball skyward. Emerging from a flash of red, Mantis took flight.

His exoskeleton, once chitinous green, was plated in a sleek red metal that reflected the light of fire. The sections of his body locked together with masterful biological engineering. Replacing his blades, his arms—one side still lacking armor—now terminated in dexterous, sharp pincers.

"Grapple and toss it to the ground!" he commanded. There was just a moment of hesitation as the Pokémon noticed the lingering flames and explosive goo below him, then he launched. Mantis passed through the dispersing smoke to meet the opponent at the apex of its flight. Completely stunned from the explosion, there was nothing it could do to counter or shake off the clamps that grabbed hold of its shell.

With powerful beats of his wings, Mantis spun both himself and his foe mid-air, building momentum with each rotation. Ciel realized that, though completely improvised, Mantis was using a new move. He shouted, "Seismic Toss!"

Mantis released. The opponent rocketed down the ground even faster than the explosion had sent him up. The reptilian creature blew a dent in the surface of the granite, knocked completely out by the force of the throw. Its gangly head hung limp above the shell on which it landed.

After both parties touched the ground, the referee waved a yellow flag, announcing that the Pokémon, what she called a Turtonator, was unable to battle. Mantis clicked his pincers and admired himself in his few spare moments. That gift from Jasmine had allowed him to evolve into Scizor. Unlike most Pokémon, the change between Scyther and Scizor didn't offer an objective advantage. Instead, it was an equal exchange, trading some of the previous form's speed and mobility for massive defense and even greater attack power. It was no less permanent, however. Ciel had left the choice to Mantis, who had sat on the concept for weeks before finally making his decision to evolve.

Clair recalled her Pokémon. She huffed, face the same red-hot hue as the pool surrounding them. "Don't think this is over. You needed three Pokémon to defeat just my one."

"Maybe so," said Ciel, Mantis snapping his pincers in anticipation, "but I'll bet that was your only Fire-type. You expected to shut down Steel, Fairy, and Ice with your leader, but what happens when that fails?"

"You little—" She cut herself off with her teeth again, clearly trying to withhold some unsavory words and save her image. She was sweating and suffocating just like him now.

She sent out her next Pokémon, a levitating serpent covered in sky blue scales. He recognized it as Dragonair, the previous form of Dragonite. It was able to use various elemental types, but her reaction to his probing excluded Flamethrower from that mix.

He wiped some sweat from his forehead and told himself not to get too confident. The platform was still sinking, over halfway down from its original position. The rumbling and impact of the throw had driven it much further, Raven was out, and Hector had been torched by fire. No one was in peak condition, but a grin still creeped on his face. He'd busted a hole through her strategy and carved his path to the light.

He nodded to Mantis and the Scizor readied his battle stance. The green flag flew.

* * *

Clair threw out her arm and shouted in desperation. "Hydro Pump!"

Her Kingdra unleashed a torrent from its barrel-like snout. The normally aquatic creature kept itself propped up by its trail and the recoil from the attack nearly threw it off the platform. It had little stability, its body nothing more than a singular curved shape protruding with wavy, branch-like horns and fins.

"Dodge and use Bullet Punch!" called Ciel.

Mantis was already mid-flight across the arena. He ceased the movement of his left pair of wings, sending his flight spiraling away from the stream of water. Ciel himself dashed to the side, his feet stopping at the corner, where his vision was filled with that bubbling unknown fluid. The platform was only a few centimeters above the surface. Something about it made him raise an eyebrow.

Mantis was upon the Kingdra, which twisted its head to try to align the continuous stream with its target. The Scizor clamped shut his pincers, using them as makeshift knuckles to deliver a flurry of blows. A shock through his nerves caused him to cancel the attack—he had been paralyzed by a Thunder Wave from Clair's Dragonair—and hop backwards across the platform while the Water-type righted itself. Without its Trainer's order, it took advantage of the sudden respite and fired an Ice Beam that struck Mantis square in the chest. The ice overtook him. It crawled around him as it crystalized and overtook his right shoulder and three of his four wings. He couldn't muster enough strength to vibrate them, and without that kinetic energy, the covering would only melt with time.

Ciel kept a level head. With his advantageous typing and Clair's deteriorating attitude, Mantis had been able to defeat her Dragonair and last well into her Kindra, which seemed to be her most powerful Pokémon. Despite the heat drying its scales into a sickly greenish color, and despite the beating it had endured by Mantis's repeated punches, the Water-type Pokémon was miraculously still conscious. It wouldn't last much longer, and Ciel didn't have the spare centimeters to let it.

"Close in. We need to finish this, n _ow,_ " said Ciel. He felt the ground slipping beneath him. The ooze splashed over the edges of the granite, urging him to stay towards the center.

Sensing the urgency in his voice, Mantis trudged forward despite both the internal paralysis and the external freezing. He raced across the platform on his thin legs.

"Hydro Pump, again!" Clair called. Her hair was in disarray, strands of blue falling over her eyes and curved with moisture. The woman nearly screamed in irritation when the attack emerged as barely stream. "Water Gun! Bubblebeam! Use anything!"

A pitiful spurt was all it had to offer. No way to dodge, Mantis took it right in his chest, dropping him to a knee. But, the pressure of the water combined with the atmospheric heat cracked the ice around his chest and shoulder. He rose to his feet and crossed the rest of the distance, bringing up his armored pincer for a final blow.

"Hold it! Battle over! Kingdra is unable to battle!" shouted the referee, frantically waving a blue flag.

Clair turned up to the referee, now meters above her on the retracted bridge. " _What?_ Why?"

"Look at your Pokémon, Clair," she called down.

Her Kingdra was ready to fall over. Its entire form shook, not only from the repeated punches, kicks, and grabs by Mantis but also its expenditure of water. Its body had lost almost all its moisture through repeated attacks and perspiration. It needed to be returned to a body of water and taken to a Pokémon Center, and Clair quickly recalled the Pokémon to its capsule once she realized The stasis would keep it safe until then.

The referee disappeared above the bridge, and soon after, the platform lurched, coming to a complete stop with only a centimeter and a half to spare.

Ciel stepped up to his Pokémon. The insectoid creature, tall enough to meet him at eye-level, scanned him with fierce eyes. With his permission, Ciel turned him around and gently cleared away the dripping ice from his wings. They beat in his face reflexively once they were freed and he shot back, sputtering a laugh.

"Thanks for your help, Mantis. You carried this one," he said, holding up his Poké Ball. "We'll get you checked up at a Pokémon Center, alright?"

Mantis was dematerialized by the beam after he bid farewell, leaving Ciel to step up to the center of the platform amidst the cracked indentation. Clair begrudgingly met him in the center.

Clair stood silent as his mind raced. He kept on as professional an appearance as he could, but the anticipation was getting to him.

"You defeated me in battle," she began, causing him to let out a tense breath, "but I won't concede this. You're not worthy of my Badge."

"W-what?" he asked.

"As Gym Leader, I have sole discretion on who receives qualification for beating me. And I say you don't qualify," she said. Falkner had used the same logic but had bestowed a Badge despite a loss. "For one, you recklessly disrupted the platform and put your Pokémon in danger from the lava."

Determined, he took a step back. He tracked right to the edge of the platform and kneeled before the bubbling substance. Without hesitation, he thrust his hand through the surface despite a frantic plea from the Gym Leader behind him.

Withdrawing his arm, the oil-like liquid coated his arm, and though it did feel hot, it wasn't any more dangerous than water. Ciel shook it off as best he could. He turned back to Clair with a challenging stare. "It's not lava. My Pokémon weren't in danger."

"You had no way of knowing that!"

"It's simple convection, isn't it? If it really was lava, the rising heat wouldn't be bearable, and it didn't get any hotter the further the platform sank. It's just supposed to ward away challengers, not kill them," he said.

The woman scrambled for another response, but then something dawned on her. She fell to a calm cross-armed pose and met him with a raised eyebrow. "You also used a Pokémon with a near-fatal weakness to Fire against my Turtonator. That was completely irresponsible."

He opened his mouth to counter, but he stopped. Sure, he'd known that Mantis couldn't be used against a Fire-type Pokémon, but that Turtonator was completely stunned by the blast and it was the force of a throw was his only option to deal enough damage. No, that was wrong. Hector could have pushed the creature off the platform and out-of-bounds when it landed. Choosing Mantis was a split-second decision that had paid off, but he couldn't argue her point—if the Turtonator had completely absorbed the blast by its shell, one well-aimed Flamethrower would have threatened Mantis's life.

The platform rumbled again and rose from the fake lava, and as it neared its peak position, the bridge extended to meet it. The entire assembly clicked into place.

"You're not worthy of my Badge. You'll need to try again, and only then will I consider your… challenge complete…"

The woman trailed off, head angling upwards, and Ciel felt a shadow cast over him. He hadn't even heard approaching footsteps. Slowly, he turned around and stared up at the Champion of the Indigo Plateau.

No matter how familiar Ciel had gotten with the man through the Indigo League's campaign against the Rockets, he still wasn't adequately prepared to speak to one of the greatest Trainers in the world. Lance brandished a smile at him, and then at the Gym Leader, forcing the latter to bow in his presence. His clothing was even more ornate than usual. Golden jewelry hung around his cloak and his normally wild mane was tied back for a formal occasion.

"Let us not be hasty. I think this young man has more to him than you've seen, Clair," said the Champion.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, rising from her bow.

"I'm collecting you. The elder has summoned the village in ceremony, and who should I find lazing about?"

The woman checked a band on her wrist, which came alight with a digital clock when it was tapped. She cursed under her breath and called to the aide to close up the Gym.

Lance hid a laugh behind his authoritative face, his mouth curling just slightly before returning to neutral. "If you'd join us, we could discuss your appeal for the Rising Badge after service with the elder."

"You can't do that," said Clair, who hurried to his side after setting her hair back into place. "You know that outsiders are forbidden."

He ignored her. "This outsider has an important connection with our people. I'm sure the elder will make an exception."

Ciel looked down at himself, wondering exactly what the man meant. The aide returned him his jacket, which he curled up and held under his left arm. He felt the Poké Balls in his pocket, rolled them between his fingers, and let out a sigh.

"I'll have to pass, sir." Ciel had to reinforce his nerves to rescind the Champion's invitation. The look he received almost killed him, that blank intrigued stare. He had to justify himself. "My Pokémon need care at a Pokémon Center. They're more important."

Finally, the smile managed to creep its way onto Lance's face. He nodded. "That's the right choice. I'll be here for the rest of the day, anyway, so come to the lake whenever you're ready. We'll be waiting."

* * *

Ciel opted to leave his Pokémon to themselves at the Blackthorn Pokémon Center once Mantis and Raven received their checkups. The former was mostly fine, his metal coating dampening most battle damage—though he'd only recovered from the evolution shock a few days prior and the nurse recommended additional rest—while the latter had some bruising from the explosion. Glad as he was that they turned out okay, Clair's criticism hung in his mind; he was confident in his decision in the heat of battle, but it was just one wrong move from endangering Mantis's life.

The Center was humorously more modern than the one in Mahogany, though still miniscule. He grabbed the only unoccupied room of three. It sported a fenced-off outdoor habitat for his Pokémon to exercise, and after telling everyone to come and go as they pleased, he pushed his way out the door and beelined for the north side of the village.

He pulled his jacket a little tighter around himself as he passed the darkened Gym and traced the shore of the lake. It was still late afternoon, but the evening chill was creeping in. The towering mountains approached and swallowed the lake hole. The beach began to disappear, a simple dock at the end, while the crystal-clear water continued flowing into a wide cavern.

Ciel stepped up to the dock. Just as Lance had said, they were waiting. Technically. A well-constructed wooden raft was anchored to the dock by a rope. He stood unmoving for a few minutes, casting glances over the water. Eventually, he took a hesitant step off the dock and planted one foot firmly on the planked surface of the craft. It hardly moved underneath his weight, which reassured him enough to step entirely on. He grasped tight to the pole in the center and slid down to a sit, then untied the rope on the raft itself to let it free.

It floated gently away from the dock into the cave. Ciel realized that there was a slight downward flow into the mountains, and he let the water take him to an unknown destination, keeping himself hugged tight to the pole. This time he didn't have Crystal and Gold to help ease him, but he could see the bed through the clearness and tried to convince himself there was no danger.

The stream coursed deeper into the mountain. Rays of sunlight reached through where the roof of the cavern had fallen away. He tried to imagine what it would be like after sundown, the stars and moon stealing glances into the mountain, a passenger holding their breath for their next glimpse into the shining night.

On its natural course, the raft fell in line between two rows of posts. Atop each was a torch, like lights on a runway but far more ancient. A building, constructed of fine wood but in a foreign architectural style wrought with sharp edges and random protrusions, rose from the water at the end of the path. Its own small dock awaited.

Ciel's raft lurched when it made contact and he quickly jumped for the wooden platform. It felt rough under his hands and knees as he stayed low to the floor for a few seconds too long, and once he stood, every footstep was accompanied by a wooden creak. He glanced at the tapestry hanging in place of a door. A breathtaking age-old depiction of a Dragon-type Pokémon, mouth lined with teeth, adorned its surface. Ciel was unsure whether to push through unannounced.

He didn't have to decide. The fabric was pushed aside by none other than Clair, who said with an unamused face, "The Champion is waiting for you."

He stepped inside the single room building. It was large enough to hold the entire village as Lance had implied, laid out with cushioned mats in a semicircular audience around a carving on the far wall. The Gym Leader didn't join them, and once Ciel was inside, she let the tapestry fall and left him to his devices. Across the room, the Champion was speaking with a kneeling elder. He cut away from his conversation and presented himself with regal poise.

"I formally welcome you to the Dragon's Den," he said. A short pause, no doubt to let him take in this ethereal space. "Do you know why I invited you here?"

Ciel thought for a moment, caught off guard. He felt out of place in this sacred world, far away from the prying eyes of greater civilization. "I have a connection. What does that mean?"

"This place only welcomes those of the Dragon Clan's blood, their family by contract, and those of extraneous circumstances related to our people. You're the one who told my wife about the incident at the Ruins of Alph, correct?"

The memory came back to him, that odd hazy dream, if it even _was_ a dream. He felt a phantom itch in his shoulder. Slowly, he nodded. The elder sat unmoving behind Lance, but he was listening in. This was a matter that concerned an entire people.

"You've helped protect the secret my wife passed to you, simple as it is, and for that I'm thankful."

"What's so special about those ruins?" Ciel blurted out. He realized that doing so directly contradicted the gratitude, but keeping it bottled up made him more anxious to learn more.

The Champion was silent. He refused.

"What did the Rockets want to do with it?"

"The Rockets?" Lance asked. His face contorted, unable to process what was asked of him. He cleared his throat and addressed Ciel again. "Explain."

"Right after I talked to your wife, a purple-haired woman attacked me. She said she was working for the Rockets and we reported her to the police." Just as the shoulder pain went away, he felt an urge to scratch that thin line on his neck. He yanked down his hand as soon as he realized, which made Lance raise his eyebrow. "I saw her another time. She was watching me for some reason. Did you catch her when the Radio Tower was cleared?"

He put a hand to his chin. "Purple hair? Not a common feature, but one of their higher-ups looked like that when we captured him at the Indigo League. He was an older man though."

The man shook his head to clear his own thoughts—something was racing through him, Ciel was sure. He continued, "I cannot tell you more. I am a keeper of my people's secrets, and no one else should need to shoulder matters like this."

Ciel reluctantly accepted. He needed to put his trust in the Champion, even knowing that _she_ was still out there somewhere. With the Challenge Sigil in his palm, and knowing his father had his back, he convinced himself that if the time came, he had the power to keep his family safe.

"I apologize for the questioning. That was only part of our business here and I don't want to end things on such a sour note," Lance said, then he pointed past Ciel towards the doorway.

He turned his head. Two familiar faces held open the tapestry. It took him a few moments to recognize them, as he hadn't seen their faces since the weekend they first met.

" _Heeeeeeeeey!_ " Christine Masuta rushed forward, crossing the space instantly, and planted herself in front of him with a smile and a raised hand. He blinked. He didn't even register the motion. "How's it going, Ciel? Did you beat my dear old cousin once removed?"

Her ecstatic mood was overwhelming. It was almost the same energy as Gold—though maybe put to more constructive use—and he wasn't as qualified as Crystal to keep up. His head looked to the hovering hand, then to her head, then to the rest of her body below.

"Weren't you, uhh, critically injured?" Ciel asked, looked her body up and down. She was in a robed ceremonial getup as well, though she clearly didn't put much thought into it. It wasn't secured or tied in the same professional manner as her father's.

"Huh?" She tilted her head, though her hand never moved. "I said it was just a scratch. It was fully healed in like two days, tops. What, did you not believe me?"

"I, err, maybe? I kind of thought you were just playing it up over the phone, like you were trying to act cool," he said.

"You made some calls without my permission, young lady?" asked Lance, but the girl brushed him off with a weak laugh.

"Well I _am_ cool, but no. Top condition." She continued shaking her hand, still floating in place, until in a moment of insight, he realized what she meant. He slapped his hand against hers, after which she spun on her heels.

"And before you ask," Ciel said, "no."

"Darn. One day you're gonna say yes, mark my words."

The second person thundered over to them, reached out his giant hand, and grabbed Kris by the collar to hoist her into the air. She gasped in surprise and threw out a fist to her brother's chest, but she was powerless due to the sheer difference in size. Saber said, "Now, if we're done with embarrassing ourselves in front of the _elder_ , I was told there were important matters to discuss."

Ciel could only swallow the lump in his throat. Saber carried his squirming sister back into position by their father and the two put themselves into some semblance of order. Said elder had remained silent, the short, elderly man merely continuing his observation, though with slightly more relaxed posture. Lance stepped forward.

"Though I _respect_ the Gym Leader's decision," Lance began, Ciel noting the odd emphasis, "in light of your contributions to the Pokémon League, and of my own judgement of your battle, I believe you've earned a victory today."

"But Clair—sorry, the Gym Leader—said that I'd made some mistakes. And, to be honest sir, I kind of agree with her," Ciel said. His priority was to keep his team out of danger, to let them battle safely, and to help both Pokémon and Trainer improve in doing so, especially after his lapses in the past. That slipped during the battle, even if only for a moment.

"Battling is about making poor decisions." The Champion said this with such resounding confidence that it paralyzed him.

"Sir?" he asked.

"You can only make decisions based on what you know. Often, you'll be almost or entirely wrong, and that's when you improvise. In your eyes, you incapacitated the Gym Leader's Turtonator to the point it was no longer a threat. Do you think your Scizor would have charged ahead if it didn't trust your judgement?"

That's right. There was a short moment before Mantis took off that he surveyed the situation, and that was the decision that reinforced his trust. He hated that he kept forgetting it. Pokémon Battling could never be so simple, so one-sided. It was a beautiful performance between teammates. Partners.

"You'll always make mistakes, some crushing. If you decide to walk away and ignore what needs to be fixed, I wouldn't blame you. But if you face them head-on, you're a Pokémon Trainer."

Ciel stood with his back straight, firsts curled at his side, and met the Champion's eyes. The man nodded.

"With that in mind," he said, "I bestow upon you the Rising Badge."

His arms were twitching, and not just from the heat that had soaked his shirt in sweat and made his breathing heavy. After almost a year, he had completed the Johto Gym Challenge. He wanted to burst right then and there. It took everything in him to not hop up and down, shaking with unbridled excitement, letting loose a child long gone, but he kept himself grounded.

There was more to it than childlike celebration. It was force of will that let him improve after those first two losses to Falkner and the realization that he was still so much smaller than what he opened the door to. It was grueling acceptance of his biggest mistake, one that caused a rift between himself and his Pokémon, one that even mended would leave a permanent scar like the one adorning Arden's stomach. It was trying every day to be a better person, and to see when other people were climbing to their own best.

Maybe it subdued his accomplishment. But he understood that resting on his success, rather than viewing it as a steppingstone, would only hold him back. That extended to his wish. He didn't want a prize; it was better that it shined a new path.

The man held out his hand. In it lied the Rising Badge, as claimed, a small black object with a vague shape of a face. Two searing red eyes shined atop it. Next to it was a larger symbol. The golden crest of the Indigo League lied dead center, encircled by nine multicolored sections.

Ciel took them both and examined the larger one. "This is…"

"The Johto Challenge Sigil. Just like a Badge, it's physical proof that you've conquered the entire Johto Region."

He clenched the items in his hand. He stared at them through his fingers, unable to pull away.

"And, as we've discussed," continued the Champion, "I do have one more thing to give you. Have you decided yet?"

"I want to be as famous as you."

He'd said it to Chuck, and before that to the one girl in Goldenrod. To be able to protect people and Pokémon he cared about, he couldn't stand by just growing stronger physically with his team. He needed _real_ power to influence people, to carve smiles on their faces with his every word, every movement, every battle cry.

Cynthia and Lance had a power he wanted to grasp with his own hands. From atop the Pokémon League, they told the world that everything would be okay. And everyone believed them, because they had the ability to make the future happen. Getting to speak to them in person and join them in battle only reinforced to him the role they played in holding up the world. Ciel was going to keep his sister smiling—and his friends, and his family—by standing in that same spot one day.

The man put on an amused face and leaned forward, just slightly, to overlook him. "That's not a wish I can grant. But if I were to suggest, you'll need to challenge the World Trial, and that requires two Challenge Sigils. Plus, service to the community at large."

Ciel knew this, of course. One Gym Challenge wouldn't match him up against the greatest Trainers in the world. If he was going to chase Cynthia and Lance's legacy, he might as well train as they did.

He looked to Kris, who seemed to realize his thought process. She whispered something in another language.

"I have my wish, then." Ciel issued his demand. "Take me to Sinnoh."

The Champion smiled. He motioned to his children and said, "You two, we'll be leaving soon. Wait outside and get ready to go."

They both grunted and walked past Ciel on both sides, Kris pointing an accusing finger at him as she passed. They left beneath the tapestry.

"Now, about the wish," Ciel said, suddenly losing his firmness, "I know it's Sinnoh, but no boats please."

"I can work out the details of a special trip with the Indigo League, and then we can organize when you're ready. What will you do for now?"

He fell silent for a moment, though the answer rested on his lips. He said, "I have a meeting, sir."

The tower was calling to him. Four months had become six months for them both. In his eyes, his Challenge Sigil meant nothing until he faced one last battle. One he'd promised all those months ago.

* * *

 **The penultimate chapter. It's a recurring gag at this point that chapters are "longer than expected". I claimed this one might be short in the author's note for Chapter 32. Nope.**

 **I guarantee the next one will go long and might take an extra week. I'm planning on going back and doing a round of edits as I did at the end of the first arc, which will help me tie everything up and put any finishing touches on this story.**

 **I have nothing more to say. Only one chapter remains — Chapter 35 [Finale]: A Lifetime Ago. Until next time.**


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